Little Problems
by ReavansMask
Summary: Shepard has a little problem. Jack gives her a little help. Liara's a little ticked off about that. Cerberus has a little plan. It's enough to make a Spectre wish the Reapers would just hurry up and invade already. A stand-alone story that expands on a chapter from Flesh is Weak. Please read the note inside for more explanation.
1. Chapter 1

**So, in Flesh is Weak, there was a chapter with Jack that ended with a bit of a twist and a number of people wanted some follow-up to it. The more I thought about it, the more I decided it was a pretty good idea but one that would require more than just a single chapter to do justice to. Hence, this story, which will feature both Shepard/Jack, and Shepard/Liara. The first couple of chapters will include some slightly modified bits from Non-Elective Surgery and Flesh is Weak for the set-up alongside the original material, but then it will be all original. Like Flesh is Weak, this story is an AU of the main Experiments setting and will involve futa FemShep, but stands on its own for anyone who hasn't read that story. With all that said, let's get to the story and I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

><p>Miranda Lawson was almost back to her office when the attack came. In spite of her training, she was still taken by surprise, a strong hand grabbing the operative and slamming her against the wall of the <em>Normandy<em> before she could react.

"What have you done to me?!", Shepard demanded, her frantic tone revealing the true measure of the powerlessness she felt in that moment despite having her hand at Miranda's throat.

"Why, I think that would be obvious, Commander," the operative replied coolly, seemingly unfazed by her vulnerable position. "We brought you back from the dead. At outrageous expense, might I add."

"That's not what I mean and you know it," she snarled.

"Ah, that," Miranda replied, a smug, knowing smile etched onto her lovely face. "As I just told you, Cerberus has made a considerable investment in you, one that we intend to have repaid with interest. You are, after all, the first human Spectre, a warrior of unparalleled skill and cunning, and those are traits that humanity is likely to have need of in the years to come. Traits that we're interested in you passing on to future generations."

"And you thought this was the best way?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did that mean… Did they actually expect her to… "You're mad!", was the only response that came to mind.

"Well, we can't very well have you getting pregnant in the middle of a mission of this importance, now can we?", Miranda replied condescendingly. "No, this will allow you to pass on your superior genetic material to as many partners as possible while keeping you fit for active duty. We will then collect any children that might result, and make sure they are raised to be of use to humanity."

"You mean of use to Cerberus?" She'd seen the labs where the human supremacist group performed its twisted experiments and she couldn't believe that this Illusive Man would allow anyone else to benefit from his work.

"We are humanity, Commander."

"I won't do it," she protested as her hand slipped away from Miranda's throat, but her voice lacked much conviction. Even in her anger, just standing next the gorgeous Ms. Lawson was having an effect on her. The woman's perfect curves, her full breasts, her taut stomach: all of them were teasing the Spectre through the clinging, white cat suit Miranda wore. Shepard could already feel the stirrings of unwanted desire in her groin, and she had a horrible feeling that this was only the beginning. Cerberus was going to do everything in their power to break her self-control, something that had never been her strongest trait to begin with.

As Shepard walked away, her shoulders slumped, Miranda's smirk deepened. The former Spectre might be protesting now, but Ms. Lawson had no doubt that she would surrender in the end to the pleasures Cerberus had to offer. As the head of the Lazarus Project, she had spent considerable time studying the woman's psychological make-up, and while the commander might have been a model of virtue in field, when it came to the bedroom, her appetites were prodigious. Even if she didn't succumb to the operative's own charms, one of the numerous other options Cerberus had prepared would surely appeal to her.

From what Miranda had been able to find out, the only person Shepard had ever been faithful to as an adult was the asari scientist who had helped Cerberus retrieve her body from the Shadow Broker. She was a potential complication to be sure, but also one that Miranda was confident could be dealt with. Liara T'Soni was safely distant on Ilium, and even if Shepard made contact, the asari's new-found obsession with the Broker should keep her out of Cerberus' way. No, one way or another, Shepard and her future offspring would be theirs.

* * *

><p>Two Weeks Later:<p>

"Oh great. Another one," Shepard mumbled under her breath. Every time the Spectre thought she'd seen the last of Cerberus' temptations, another attractive woman would be dangled under her nose. If it wasn't the stunning Miss Lawson in her form-fitting white suit making the commander's life harder, it was the perky Kelly Chambers and her double entendres or the mysterious Kasumi Goto tantalizing Shepard with glimpses of her lithe body.

And now she could add Jack to that list. The biotic convict they'd just rescued from the _Purgatory_ was dressed in a top so small that it was barely even a bra, let alone a shirt, a fact she hardly seemed conscious of. And while she might not have been a conventional bombshell like Miranda, there was a raw sexuality in the devil-may-care way the woman carried herself that had stood out even in the few minutes they'd spent together.

"What the fuck are you waiting for?,"" Jack snapped, pulling Shepard out of her own head. "Let's get off of this floating hellhole before it explodes on us."

"Fine. This way." The Spectre shook her head and started moving towards their shuttle, but even as she followed along, Miranda allowed herself a small smile at Shepard's distraction. Thus far, the project to seduce her hadn't gone nearly as well as the operative had hoped for. Her initial projection had been that the commander would be fucking half the female crew within a week, but she was still holding out, her venom towards Cerberus seeming to overcome her formidable libido.

Jack, though, offered an intriguing alternate possibility. Miranda had read Subject Zero's file, and if there was anyone in the galaxy who hated Cerberus more than her, the operative had yet to come across them. At first, she'd wondered why the Illusive Man would want somebody like that on this mission, no matter how strong a biotic she was.

Now though, it made sense. Shepard might not be willing to sleep with a member of Cerberus or a mercenary they'd hired like Kasumi, but the convict could well prove to be a different story. Their shared disdain for the organization they were now working for was something that Jack and the commander could bond over, and unless the operative was very much mistaken, there had been a definite spark of attraction in the way Shepard had looked at their new crew member.

Of course if that was who Shepard ended up falling into bed with, it would complicate matters somewhat. The same hatred for Cerberus that could draw her and Jack together would also make controlling them more difficult. That was all right though. It just meant she had to prepare the proper contingencies, and if there was anything that Miranda Lawson excelled at, it was preparation.

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><p>Two Weeks After That:<p>

"Shepard! Nyxeris, hold my calls."

As the Spectre walked into her office, Liara could scarcely keep her heart from bursting out of her chest. For two long years, she'd held onto the faintest glimmers of hope imaginable, believing beyond reason that somehow, Shepard would come back to her. The rational, scientific part of her brain had known it was crazy, but what else could she do?

Though they had only known each other a short time, Shepard had come to mean the world to the young asari. Her strength, courage, and kindness were a blend unlike any Liara had ever encountered, and the fact that a woman like that had given her love to a shy scientist had, for a little while, made Liara happier than she had the words to express. Shepard had awakened desires the asari had spent decades ignoring, and then, just when it seemed they would have some time to more fully explore those feelings, she'd been taken away.

And now she was back. The woman standing in front of Liara looked nothing like the burnt body she had handed over to Cerberus. Her red hair, freckled cheeks, and bright green eyes were just as the asari remembered them and the sight of her was melting away all of the questions that had kept Liara awake many a long night.

Even as the holographic form of her last client her was fading away behind her, Liara rushed to the commander, throwing herself into the human woman's embrace. Strong arms encircled her and the information broke guided their lips together with her hands, trying desperately to drink in every drop of this moment that she could.

As the kiss started, Shepard forgot for an instant about everything else. Ever since they'd set course for Ilium, she'd been frightened of this reunion. For the last month, she'd been desperately fighting against her own desires, and now she was face to face with the woman she wanted most in the galaxy. She'd been scared of losing control of her own reactions, but with Liara 's lips against hers, none of that seemed to matter.

And then it intruded. As Liara's tongue slid into her mouth, Shepard felt the thing Cerberus had put between her legs stir, her sudden erection pressing painfully against her armor. She knew she should have tried to satisfy herself before coming to see Liara, but that was something she still hadn't been able to do. Her disgust at her changed body had outweighed her need, but now, as she tried to choke back her desire, she was regretting her weakness.

Mercifully, the metal of her armor prevented Liara from knowing what was going on below the belt so to speak, but it was a reminder to Shepard that she had to stop this before it went too far. The Liara she had loved had been an innocent. Before she met Shepard, she'd never even kissed anyone else, let alone made love with them. How could someone like that want the freak that the commander had been turned into?

Liara's bliss was short-lived. As suddenly as it had begun, the kiss ended, Shepard pulling away from the information broker, an uncharacteristically skittish look covering her pretty face. "I'm sorry," she stuttered, "I can't…"

The asari was stunned. Not sure how to respond, she took several steps backwards in the direction of her desk, looking to the two other people that her brain now recognized had followed Shepard in for some clue as to what had just happened. They were no help. The gigantic krogan seemed entirely uninterested in the proceedings, chewing on some prepackaged meaty snack, while the salarian's eyes were darting around the room as he mumbled to himself about some unrelated matter.

Her attention was pulled back to Shepard as the human repeated, "I really am sorry Liara, but I just can't do this."

"Why not?", the asari stammered, scarcely able to believe this was happening. She collapsed down into her desk chair, afraid her suddenly wobbly knees wouldn't support her. "What's wrong, Shepard?", she asked frantically. "What's happened?"

The commander could see the pain in Liara's beautiful, blue eyes, and the knowledge that she was its cause was something she wasn't sure she'd ever forgive herself for. She still couldn't be with Liara though, not the way she was, and so all she could do was try to minimize the damage. "It's nothing you did, Liara," she insisted, "It's my problem. Things just aren't the same with me anymore. I was dead, and now, I have this mission against the Collectors… Look, there's a pretty good chance none of us are coming back from that. It's not exactly a good time for romance."

"Of… of course, Shepard." As hard as it was, Liara tried to force herself to face reality, to accept that what she had dreaded had really come to pass. Her lover might have returned but time and tragedy were too much for them to overcome, at least for now. Shepard belonged to the galaxy, not to her, and in spite of her pain, Liara would still do her best to help her save it. "What is it that brings you here, then?", she asked, trying to change the subject before her sorrow overwhelmed her.

"Recruiting allies," she told the asari, relieved that Liara was willing to accept the justification she'd offered. "I'm looking for an assassin named Thane Krios and an asari Justicar named Samara and I heard you were working as an information broker now. Maybe you have something on them."

"As it happens, I do," Liara told the commander, but even while she started running through her leads for Shepard, something was still nagging at her. This was hardly the first time the commander had faced death. They had spent their first night together just before the mission to Ilos. Could this be more dangerous than that? Just what was really going on here anyway?


	2. Chapter 2

Jack hated asking for favors. Either the other person shot you down and made you feel like a chump for even asking or they helped and then you owed them. Either way, it sucked. She'd rather make a trade. It was cleaner that way, with both people putting something on the table. Simpler. The problem was that right now, she had nothing to offer Shepard.

She hadn't exactly come out of deep freeze on that fucking prison ship with a whole lot of money, and she'd already agreed to help Shepard fight the Collectors in exchange for the Cerberus files currently spread all over her hidey-hole. That just left sex, and while the commander was definitely hot, she also seemed to have a stick lodged pretty far up her girl scout ass. Sure, the biotic had seen her checking out some of the other women in the crew, but she was probably way to much of a straight lace to actually go for anything Jack might offer. Hence the need to ask for a favor, but as she looked at Shepard standing across from her in the sub-deck the biotic called home, Jack kept pacing uncomfortably, not wanting to actually say the words.

"What is it?", the commander asked. "Kelly said you wanted to talk to me."

"Yeah, well, uh, you know how sometimes you help people out with shit?", Jack started out, her usual bravado deserting her in this situation. "Like going with Kasumi to that dumb party?" Shepard nodded, clearly able to see where this was headed. "Well, I could use some help too. Remember how I told you that I grew up in some fucked up Cerberus lab? Those files you gave me helped me find it. It's on this planet called Pragia in the outer rim."

"Is it still operational?"

"Nah," she snorted. "It's been closed ever since I busted out." Jack paused for a second, not sure how to vocalize what she needed before settling on, "But I still want to go back there. To see where it all happened and then blow it straight to hell. Wipe all that shit out once and for all."

"All right," Shepard said without hesitation, "If it's important to you, we'll make the time. It'll probably be a day or so until we're finished with the resupply here on the Citadel but after that, Pragia's next on my list."

Jack hadn't expected it to be so easy, and all she managed to respond with was a quick, "Okay then."

Shepard headed back up the metal stairs to the engineering deck, leaving Jack shaking her head in surprise. There'd been no, "You owe me one," no, "This better not be too much trouble," none of that shit. Just, "All right." Maybe there was something to be said for girl scouts after all.

* * *

><p>"Rocket on your ten, Jack!"<p>

The biotic convict got Shepard's warning just in time, diving to the ground an instant before the trail of smoke passed overhead. The missile crashed harmlessly into the wall at the back of the vast room even as the commander turned her assault rifle on the vorcha who'd fired it. The burst caught the lightly-armored mercenary squarely in the torso, ripping him to bloody shreds even while Shepard was starting to scan the room for other threats.

On the right side of the decaying facility's largest chamber, Grunt was already crashing through what was left of the mercenaries arrayed against them. The massive krogan smashed the butt of his shotgun into a smaller member of his species, knocking him back far enough to get a clean shot, the blast blowing half of his head off.

The other krogan fell down dead, but another pair of vorcha were opening fire on Grunt, raking her teammate with their submachine guns, and Shepard moved to cover him. A concussive shot knocked both of the feral aliens from their feet and while they were down, she prepared to finish the job. The first one swiftly fell to her well-aimed rifle shots, but before she could get to his partner, things went bad.

She'd thought Jack had the battlemaster. The krogan biotic leading the team of mercenaries at the Pragia facility was in the convict's line of fire, and Shepard figured Jack would keep him busy long enough for her to mop up the vorcha.

What she'd missed in the chaos was that when Jack had dove to avoid the rocket, she'd lost her Carnifex, and while the scrambled to retrieve the pistol, the krogan was free to strike. A powerful ball of biotic energy slammed into the commander's torso, shattering shields already weakened by attacks from the other mercenaries and hurling her from her feet. Searing pain flared up and down her torso and when she crashed into the floor, her helmeted head cracking against the hard stone, everything went dark.

* * *

><p>"Fuck! Shepard!"<p>

The commander hit the ground and Jack let out a snarl of rage. Reaching out with a biotic field, she grabbed the last of the vorcha Shepard had been shooting at and yanked him off of his feet. As he dangled helplessly in the air, a couple of shots from her Carnifex left large holes where some of his more important organs were supposed to be and when he fell, she turned back to Grunt.

"You got the leader, big guy?", she asked.

"Hah!" the genetically engineered warrior laughed. "I am krogan!"

He charged towards the battlemaster and while the two krogan squared off, Jack scampered towards her commander. On closer inspection, Shepard's wounds weren't as bad as she'd initially feared, but while not life-threatening, they were still nasty. The armored plates around the Spectre's torso had been twisted by the biotic blast and beneath them, the convict could see raw, red burns on her pale skin.

Fumbling about, Jack managed to find the releases on Shepard's armor, enabling her to wrench aside the chest-plate and lower the torso piece out of her way. Beneath them, the commander's uniform had also been shredded and Jack pulled what was left of her shirt up and pants down, leaving the area covered only by a pair of compression shorts. Too preoccupied to worry for long about what else she saw there, Jack reached into her cargo pants and pulled out a tube of medi-gel, applying a generous amount of the healing substance to the burns on Shepard's body before removing her helmet and doing the same with the newly-raised lump on her head.

As the soothing substance made its way into her bloodstream, the commander started coming around, groaning unhappily as her green eyes blinked open. "Goddamn it," she muttered, "Bastard blindsided me. Are we doing all right?"

Looking across the room, Jack saw Grunt standing on top of the krogan leader, battering his enemy into a bloody pulp with a series of powerful blows from his armored fists. "Yeah, Shep," Jack laughed, "I think we're doing fine."

The commander suddenly noticed her state of relative undress and as quickly as she could, she yanked up her pants and pulled down the remnants of her shirt. It was far too late though. Though she'd been distracted by her first aid work, even someone far less sexually experienced than the convict couldn't have missed that beneath Shepard's shorts, there'd been the unmistakable outline of a cock.

* * *

><p>Sitting alone on the edge of her bed, Shepard groaned unhappily, running her hand through her red hair as her mind replayed the events of the last day. She'd showered and changed into a fresh uniform after she'd gotten back from Pragia, but the commander still felt unclean. Every time she thought that the nightmare Cerberus had plunged her into couldn't get any worse, some new, horrible development would emerge to prove her wrong.<p>

The month and a half since her awakening on the Lazarus Station had been an near-continuous ordeal of sexual frustration. Unable to bear touching herself and unwilling to give in to Cerberus' temptations and be with anyone else, the commander felt as if she was constantly ready to pop. Only the fatigue of battle let her sleep at this point and only the occasional nocturnal emission offered her any hope of relief from the torment her cock was inflicting on the miserable Spectre.

It had already cost her Liara. The commander hadn't seen her ex-girlfriend since that wrenching day on Ilium, and at this rate, she didn't know if she ever would. Liara had given her leads on Samara and Thane and in return, she'd helped the asari hack a few computer terminals, but that had been their last contact. She'd heard the pain in Liara's voice when they parted and she couldn't bear inflict that on her again, leaving her no choice but to stay far away from the woman she still loved.

Now, once more, things threatened to get worse. There was no way after treating her wounds that Jack didn't know what Cerberus had put between her legs and the convict wasn't exactly known for her discretion on sensitive subjects. True, she wasn't the gossip that Tali or Kelly was, but she had managed to make friends with a few of the other crew members, notably Zaeed and Grunt, and if she told one of them, pretty soon the entire rest of the crew would know the commander's secret. How could Shepard look them in the face if that happened? Who wanted to follow some breeding experiment into battle?

No, she had to nip this thing in the bud and there was no way to do that except to go and talk to Jack. The convict might be a pain in the ass sometimes, but at least after destroying the Pragia facility, she might be in a more generous mood than normal.

The commander glanced over at the clock. 23:32. She might as well do it now. It was the middle of the night shift, and most of the crew would be off-duty, which reduced their chances of being overheard. With a resigned sigh, Shepard pushed herself off the bed and to her feet. If should could face the Collectors, than she supposed she could face this conversation, no matter how humiliating it promised to be. Time to bite the bullet.


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter is a version of the Flesh is Weak story that started all of this, but somewhat reworked since now it's part of a longer story, so even if you read that, you will find some new bits here.**

* * *

><p>Shepard's anxiety about the conversation only increased when she arrived at the bolt-hole beneath the engineering deck where Jack spent most of her free time. The powerful biotic was waiting for her, lounging indolently against the side of her bunk, wearing her usual baggy pants, almost non-existing shirt, and fuck-you expression.<p>

"Figured you'd be heading down here," the convict smirked.

"Listen, Jack," Shepard started out, not totally sure how to ease into the subject, "About what happened this afternoon…"

That shit-eating grin didn't leave Jack's face. "You've got a dick. Gotta admit, I didn't see that one coming."

Shepard blushed at the convict's words, embarrassed in spite of her best efforts to prepare herself to talk about this subject. "Yes," she conceded softly, "I do. But I'd really rather the whole ship didn't know about it, so if you could just keep what you found out to yourself, that'd be great."

"Why?", Jack sneered. "Are you ashamed to admit that the head of the girl scouts is really just a freak like the rest of us? So you were born with a cock? So fucking what?"

"Because I wasn't born with it!", Shepard snapped a bit too loudly before lowering her voice once again. "Cerberus stuck it on me when they brought me back to life."

"Seriously?" Jack laughed incredulously. "Damn, that's fucked up. I mean, I knew the Illusive Man was into freaky shit like making kids fight to the death, but that's just… I mean, what the fuck is that even about?"

In spite of her vulgarity though, Jack's tone wasn't cruel. There was real sympathy in her voice, something that Shepard had seldom heard there before, and it eased her sense of humiliation. The Spectre had been carrying this secret for months now, with no one knowing what was wrong with her except for the assholes responsible, and maybe it would be good for her to talk about it. It was fitting in a way, she supposed. On Pragia, she'd seen just what Cerberus had done to Jack and maybe that meant the convict was the one person who'd understand this now.

"They want to breed me," she explained in a low voice, the words hard for her to say. "They decided I'm an asset to humanity and they want me to go out and pass along my DNA so they can take the kids and use them for god knows what."

"Shit." Jack shook her head, the empathy Shepard had sensed before more definite now. "I guess you're like me then. Another chick those sick fuckers screwed over."

"And the worst of it," the commander confessed, "Is that it's working. I'm on edge all the time. I feel like sooner or later, I'm going to snap and end up fucking Kelly or Miranda or someone else and give them what they want."

"Screw that," Jack snarled. Cerberus did not get to win. Not as long as she had anything to say about it. "You need to get off, I could give you a hand."

Shepard started at the convict in disbelief, unable to do much more than stammer, "You… I couldn't ask that… I mean, I'm a freak…"

"And I'm not?" Jack shrugged. "Look, it's just sex, and I've had a lot of it, for a lot of dumber reasons than this. Anyway, you're pretty hot and I could stand to get laid, especially if it pisses off that stupid cheerleader and her asshole boss."

"But their plans…"

"Don't worry; I don't want to deal with a kid, especially one Cerberus is trying to steal. I'm on the pill. So what do you say? You wanna do this shit or not?"

It wasn't exactly the most romantic proposition Shepard had ever heard, and in spite of her need, the commander found herself torn. She certainly craved the release. Frustration and stress could get her killed, and something in the convict's eyes, those big, pretty brown eyes, made the commander feel as if she could trust Jack's help. It wasn't that she wasn't attracted to Jack either; the biotic's raw sexuality definitely had its appeal.

The problem was that she still loved Liara. The asari was the one she wanted to be with, more than anything. Liara, though, was gone and incredibly, Jack seemed to understand what had happened to the commander without being disgusted by it. In Shepard's current state, that meant a lot.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," she replied after a long breath, "But okay."

Jack grinned. Shoving off of the edge of her bunk, she reached out, grasping the clasp of Shepard's uniform pants in her deceptively strong hands. "Okay then," she told the Spectre, "Let's get a look at what you've got down there. Last time, there were still some clothes in my way."

Shepard felt a twinge of nervousness at the prospect, still skittish about being seen in her transformed state, and she brushed the convict's hand back. "Real subtle there, Jack," she chastised her, trying to cover her apprehension with humor. "I'm not looking for dinner and a movie here, but a little foreplay would be nice."

A chortle escaped the convict's lips. "Aw, isn't that sweet. Cerberus might have given you a dick, but you're still a big old girl at heart."

There was something oddly comforting about that thought and Shepard laughed back, the tension she'd been feeling starting to break. The Spectre reached out to cup Jack's chin and the biotic went along, letting Shepard's lips meet hers for a surprisingly tender kiss. As their tongues entwined, she moaned softly and unexpectedly.

Jack licked her lips as the Spectre's hands ran over her back, massaging the tight muscles there. "Okay, Shepard, I'll admit you've got skills."

"Glad to hear it." The commander smiled as she said the words. It was reassuring to be on familiar ground, to be reminded that in spite of her change, she still knew how to bring another woman pleasure. "If we're doing this," she promised Jack, "I'm going to make sure you enjoy it too."

"Show me." The convict unfastened her skimpy top and Shepard cupped the perky breasts beneath it in her hands. The tattooed orbs weren't particularly large, but they were extremely sensitive and as Shepard massaged the nipples with her thumbs, Jack gasped. She wasn't used to her lovers giving a damn about her pleasure and she was enjoying the change. Another benefit of fucking a girl scout she supposed.

The commander's tongue ran along the side of Jack's neck, tracing the line of her scars rather than shying away from them as so many others had before. They were a reminder of the connection, and the enemy, that they shared, and when Shepard kissed them, Jack's body arched. As the biotic squirmed in her arms, the Spectre felt her cock start to swell against her boxers and when teeth nipped at her neck, the swell became an almost-painful strain, a craving that demanded to be taken care of.

Feeling the stiff press of eager flesh against her stomach, Jack laughed before tilting her head up to give Shepard a fierce kiss. "Seems like your body isn't quite as patient as you are," she teased.

Her hands went back to Shepard's pants, and this time, the commander let her undo them. She felt a spike of anxiety as Jack slid them down along with her boxer shorts, but she fought it down, trusting that the biotic wouldn't freak out at what she found.

The commander wasn't disappointed. When her lengthy erection sprung forth, pulsing eagerly in the dim light of the hold, Jack just smiled. "Well, at least they didn't stiff you."

"What?", Shepard asked, too emotionally overwhelmed not to mention turned on to think entirely straight.

"If you're gonna get a cock," Jack explained, wrapping a calloused palm around the shaft, "It might as well be a big one." She started running her hand up and down the considerable length and a choked sound of pleasure forced its way out of the Spectre's throat at her touch. "Aw, what's wrong?", Jack asked. "Forgot to jerk off this morning?"

"Haven't…" Shepard stammered, feeling ashamed of her own hesitancy in the face of Jack's casual confidence. "Haven't ever. It was too weird."

Ever? If that was true, Jack could hardly believe that Shepard had made it this long without doing half the crew of the _Normandy_ and two-thirds of the whores on Omega. "You really are a girl scout," she told her. "I better take the edge off or you'll last about six seconds when I fuck you."

"I'll be okay," Shepard insisted, but the truth was that she was already half-way to bursting just from the beginnings of a hand job and when Jack scoffed at her protest, the Spectre said nothing more, letting herself be led onto the cot where the biotic slept.

"Lie down," Jack instructed her, and Shepard complied, unbuttoning her shirt and unhooking her bra as the biotic slid down to the foot of the bed and crawled between the commander's legs. She was rock hard now, desperate for more stimulation, and while she waited for Jack to get started, her hands went to her own breasts. Massaging them roughly, she tried her best to forget the exact circumstances of what was going on and just lose herself in the physical sensations.

Jack started out with a exploratory flick of her tongue along the side of the shaft. The thing certainly felt real enough, and based on the gasp that came from Shepard when she licked it, it seemed to work normally as well. Already, Jack could see a drop of fluid forming on the head and so she stuck out her tongue once more, lapping it up. It was an interesting taste, somewhere in-between a guy's and a girl's, but what was even more interesting was the way Shepard's hips bucked at even the biotic's light touches.

"Please, Jack," the Spectre implored. She normally could enjoy a little teasing, but right now, she was just too frustrated for patience.

"I thought you wanted some foreplay, Shepard."

"I've had enough," she pleaded.

"Your call." In truth, Jack usually preferred to get right to the good parts herself, but there was something special about Shepard that made her want to take her wishes into account. The commander wasn't just a random hook-up, she was the closest thing Jack had to a friend and so, without further delay, the convict parted her plump lips and took the head of the cock into her mouth. It felt so full, swollen with Shepard's desperate arousal, and Jack suspected it wouldn't take long before she came. Sucking on the tip, she returned her hand to the base of the Spectre's shaft, pumping her with firm strokes.

The taut muscles of the commander's stomach tightened and through the haze of pleasure, Shepard found herself shocked by how fast she was coming undone. She couldn't help herself. She had no experience with this kind of sex and a mountain of tension she needed to release.

When Shepard's cockhead kept leaking salty fluid into her mouth, Jack could tell the Spectre was close but as she watched her commander' hips move, she noticed something else interesting. Beneath the base of the shaft, Shepard still had a pussy as well, and on impulse, the convict thrust two fingers inside it. The response was immediate. The feeling of being suddenly filled combined with the way Jack kept sucking hard on her shaft was more than Shepard could take, and with a gasp, she thrust upwards, burying herself as deeply as she could into her lover's hot mouth.

A veritable flood of Shepard's release poured down Jack's throat, and though she gulped down the first few shots, there was so much that the biotic couldn't keep up with it all. She pulled back, but she kept stroking, unwilling to relinquish her hold on the commander and the rush of power it gave her. What was left of Shepard's orgasm poured down over her hand, with a few strong shots making their way to the soldier's belly or Jack's face.

As her climax at last tapered off, Shepard sighed with relief. It felt as if the fog around her had cleared somewhat, the pressure that had been pounding at the back of her head for over a month lessened now. Jack, on the other hand, was a bit of a mess, but she didn't seem to mind, just unceremoniously wiping her hand and cheek off with the sheet before looking up at the red-head with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. "Christ, Shepard," she laughed, "I thought you were going to drown me there."

"Sorry." Shepard blushed, suddenly self-conscious once again about her strange anatomy.

"Nah, don't worry about it. At least you didn't try to hold my head down like some assholes would."

There was a vulnerability in Jack's voice, and Shepard cringed, thinking about some of the things the biotic must have had to do to survive over the years. "Never," she said reassuringly, pulling Jack up to lie on top of her, there not being enough room on the tiny bed for anything else. "Trust me."

"Hey, don't go pulling that touchy-feely crap on me," Jack insisted, but a part of her appreciated the reminder that she could rely on Shepard. The woman had nearly gotten herself killed helping Jack out on Pragia, after all, and she hadn't even complained about it.

Shepard gave her a little half-smile, deciding not to press the point. "Whatever you say," she agreed. "How about I just do some touching and feeling instead?" Jack licked her lips at that and with a deft motion, Shepard reversed their positions so that she was on top of the convict before starting to kiss her way down the tattoos that covered her chest.

Some of the pieces of Jack's body art were better work than others, but the overall effect was impressive she thought, a mosaic of colors and designs that the commander explored with her mouth, sucking on nipples, nipping at breasts, and caressing the skin she found. Beneath her, she felt Jack's hips buck, eager for some kind of contact on her sex, and she unfastened the ties of the other woman's cargo pants so that she could help her out with that.

Beneath them, there was nothing except smooth flesh. The convict hadn't bothered to wear underwear, and her hair had all been removed, probably in some permanent way judging by the fact that her tattoos extended down just above her sex. Shepard moved her mouth to Jack's thighs, taking a moment to inhale her musky smell. Amidst all the strangeness, this, the scent of another woman, was familiar to her, and when the biotic groaned impatiently, Shepard ran her tongue deftly over her slick folds.

She was wet, wetter than Shepard might have expected and as she started probing inside her with a single finger, the tightness of her new lover's pussy caused a tug of fresh arousal in the commander's cock. She was far from satisfied she realized and the thought of being buried inside that heat was making her body hum with anticipation.

It was a desire that didn't bother her as much as it would have only minutes earlier, but first, she had work to do. She had never been a selfish lover, and when Jack had spread herself, giving Shepard a perfect view of her hard little clit, the commander eagerly took the bud between her lips while she kept fucking her new lover with her finger.

"More," Jack growled, and Shepard moved to add a second finger. It was a tight fit, sliding it into the petite biotic's sex, but when the commander got inside, she was rewarded by the feeling of Jack's body releasing more wetness to coat her digit. The convict's hips thrashed wildly as she pressed herself against Shepard's hand, and the Spectre took the cue, fucking her hard and fast. Her tongue vibrated over the convict's clit as she fingered her and when Jack started growling obscenities, her fists tangling in the sheets, Shepard knew she was on the edge. She gripped her lover's ass with her free hand, pushing her harder against her mouth, and with a final stroke of her tongue on the woman's pulsing clit, Jack came for her, her body nearly arching off the bed as she screamed with release.

Between her legs, Shepard's cock throbbed almost painfully at the sight and even as Jack was winding down from her climax, the Spectre looked up at her, an unspoken question in her green eyes.

"The fuck are you waiting for?" Jack demanded, still panting from her powerful orgasm but hungry for more. "Fuck me."

Shepard withdrew her fingers and slid up the bed, trying to line her erection up with Jack's opening. The biotic didn't feel like waiting for her to get it right, grabbing her commander's firm ass and guiding her in. As her swollen tip pushed against Jack's opening though, Shepard hesitated. It was a tight fit, far tighter than it had been for her fingers, and she didn't want to hurt her partner.

Jack, however, seemed unconcerned. While Shepard tried to go slowly, Jack pressed her hips downward and first the head and then the first few inches of the commander's cock pressed into her lover's wet pussy. As Shepard's member filled her, Jack let out a sharp sigh. It was a tight fit to be sure, the stretching mildly painful, but she liked it that way. Pain reminded her that she was alive and as the commander kept going deeper, Jack's discomfort was more than balanced out by the pleasure, the head of the Spectre's cock hitting places inside her that the her fingers hadn't been able to reach.

As she finally sheathed herself all the way inside Jack, Shepard had to pause, taking a deep breath lest she blow again before she even really got started. Stopping herself from coming too quickly wasn't something she'd had to worry about when using a strap-on and her resolve wasn't helped by an impatient Jack wrapping her legs around her ass and starting to hump her aching dick.

Realizing her lover wasn't going to wait, Shepard started thrusting while still trying her best to hold back. It wasn't easy. The convict was wonderfully tight around her, and she fucked like she did most things: with a ferocious determination. To distract herself, the commander pressed kisses along Jack's neck, trying to focus on something other that the intense pleasure she was feeling. The harder she kissed, the more the biotic liked it, and when she bit down on the soft skin of Jack's throat, the reaction was instantaneous, nails digging into the strong muscles of the Spectre's back as her lover cried out.

Encouraged, Shepard repeated the action, and Jack's legs pressed tighter on the Spectre's firm ass, pulling her deeper inside. Shepard went along with her wishes, fucking Jack harder, but despite her best efforts, she realized she couldn't hold out much longer against the stimulation she was receiving. As her strokes became more rapid and her face contorted with pleasure, Jack realized it too. The biotic nipped her lover's ear and hissed, "Not yet, damn it, Shepard. I'm so fucking close."

Snaking a hand down between their sweating bodies, Shepard pressed her thumb against Jack's clit, trying to give the convict that little bit of extra stimulation she needed, while with her other one, she gripped the back of her head and pressed their lips together for a passionate kiss. As the commander rubbed her lover, she made a series of short, sharp thrusts with her cock and on the third one, she felt Jack crash over once more, screaming into Shepard's mouth even as, impossibly, her pussy clenched even tighter around the Spectre.

It was too much for Shepard and even as Jack spasmed around her, the commander came hard, moving aside her hand so that she could bury herself as deeply as possible in that amazing, clinging heat. Even after her first climax she had so much stored-up lust that she felt as if her orgasm would never end, shot after shot of her sticky release filling up the convict and even dripping out onto the sheets beneath them.

It was several minutes before the commander could bear to move and when she finally did pull out, she was slippery and soft and more relaxed than she'd been since she woke up. Jack gave her cock a final, playful tug and the commander let out a happy sigh. Cerberus might have fucked them two of them over, but they'd found a pretty good way to fuck them right back.

* * *

><p>As Shepard climbed off of the small cot and began to hunt around for her clothes, Miranda Lawson allowed herself a small smile. It wasn't that this was the best possible outcome from her perspective. She would have much preferred that Shepard had succumbed to her charms, or even better, those of Miss Chambers. Still, it would do, she reflected as she closed the window displaying the surveillance footage from the sub-level beneath engineering. After all, she'd already had the foresight to switch Jack's birth control pills with worthless substitutes. Now, she'd just have to make sure the woman was properly impregnated and then keep her under control until she came to term.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>And now the ball's really rolling. From here on out, it will all be new material. Are Shepard and Jack dating now? What will Liara make of all this when she finds out? What is Miranda planning? Stay tuned for all that, plus plenty more smut.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

_"Just a little longer, sweetheart. I know you can do it."_

_ Shepard brushed her hand affectionately over Liara's face and the asari bit the inside of her cheek, doing her best to hold back. The Spectre's full lips caught her blue ones once more for a long, slow kiss while her hand moved back between Liara's legs, building her up again with gentle strokes along the length of her clit._

_When Shepard had suggested trying this, the archeologist had been confused, asking, "But I enjoy it so much when you make me climax. I am not quite sure I understand the purpose in delaying that."_

"_With sex, the trip is half the fun," the Spectre had informed her with a mischievous grin, "And sometimes, taking a longer trip can make it even more intense when you finally do get there._

"_All right," Liara had agreed, "I trust you."_

_She still did and after an hour of relentless teasing and pleasuring, the asari knew that Shepard had been right. Her whole body was tingling, her every nerve ending sensitized, the smallest touches of her lover's hands and mouth enough to send shivers through her. The climax building inside her was truly massive and as she approached it, Liara was too far gone to do anything but clutch at the commander's shoulder, making a series of small whimpering noises as she was stroked._

_The tips of Shepard's fingers slid just a little bit of the way into her soaked azure and the archeologist's hips pushed desperately against them, trying to take her commander deeper._

"_Jesus, you look beautiful when you're so turned on," Shepard purred, pulling her fingers back far enough to temporarily deny Liara all of what she wanted without breaking contact entirely. "And you've been so good." She planted a kiss on the sweaty skin of the asari's neck before whispering, "Do you want to come now?"_

"_Goddess, yes, please," Liara begged, her eyes already half-way to black with her need, not sure how much longer she could fight down the urge to meld._

_Hearing her plea, the Spectre suddenly thrust her fingers the rest of the way into Liara and the asari screamed, too turned on to care if half the ship heard her. Shepard's thumb rubbed firmly along her clit and at that final stimulation, her walls completely collapsed. The archeologist's mind reached out, yanking Shepard's thoughts to hers, and her body went rigid as the most powerful climax she had even experienced overtook her._

_Across the meld, she could feel Shepard peaking too, the Spectre pressing her own thighs together as her body shook from an orgasm that's she'd barely needed to be touched to achieve, but even beneath her pleasure, the power of her feelings was unmistakable. Her love and pride were deep wells that Liara eagerly drank from, the emotional bliss prolonging the physical, Shepard's hand and her love guiding the asari through ecstatic convulsions that she felt would never end, that she never wanted to end._

* * *

><p>Liara awoke with a gasp, the last moments of her erotic dream still burned into her mind even as consciousness returned to her. She slept in the nude, a habit she had picked up during her time with Shepard, and when she slid a hand between her sweaty thighs, she found them slick with her arousal, her body's reaction mirroring the lust that still swirled around her head.<p>

All that a part of her wanted do was lie back in bed and return to the past, to recall the way that she'd reciprocated, eating Shepard out until her tongue was sore and both of them lay exhausted from more shared climaxes than they could count. To touch herself to those memories until she could find some sort of release.

Another part, though, couldn't bear the thought. The memory of that night, once so dear to her, had turned bitter to contemplate. How could the same woman who had taught her so much about pleasure abandon her now? How could the love she had seen in her commander's thoughts have vanished into thin air?

It might have been easier if she understood. The archeologist liked to believe she was a rationalist and she thought that, perhaps, if she had a plausible reason for why Shepard had moved on, she could too in spite of the strength of her feelings.

She wasn't convinced it was as simple as a case of lost interest, though. The asari's thoughts kept returning to that one day on Ilium when they had seen each other once again, only for Shepard to leave her once more. To the kiss she could have sworn the commander was relishing as much as Liara had been. To the frightened look in Shepard's eyes when she'd pulled away. To the perfunctory, unsatisfying explanation the Spectre had given Liara for why they couldn't be together now.

None of it made any sense to her, and trying to solve the mystery without sufficient data was slowly driving Liara mad. Hoping that work would distract her from her confusion, to say nothing of her unwanted arousal, the asari picked up her omni-tool from her nightstand and checked her messages.

Sadly, none of them was of especial use to her. There were more leads to be sure: a possible agent of the Shadow Broker she could investigate, a crooked politician she could blackmail, but it wasn't enough. Even after Shepard's aid had unmasked her own secretary, Nyxeris, as a spy for the Broker, it hadn't brought Liara any closer to her goal. The other asari had attacked her, forcing Liara to terminate her employment rather permanently, and a search of her files hadn't revealed anything the information broker could use to find her real enemy. There was nothing but more payments run through dummy companies and bank accounts with fake names on them, not the thread that would lead her to what she really wanted: an identity or location for the Shadow Broker.

Frustrated, the asari closed her inbox and rose from the bed, throwing on a thin grey robe she kept nearby. This was getting her nowhere, neither pining for her former lover nor her current approach to finding the Shadow Broker helping in least. She walked over to the huge window that covered one of the walls of her apartment and as she gazed out at the vast city of Nos Astra waking up beneath her, Liara realized she needed to try something new.

But what? Somewhere out there were the answers she needed, but who had them? The answer hit her like a shock to the spine. Cerberus. It all came back to Cerberus. They were the ones who had told her where to find Shepard's body and who had then taken custody of it after Liara rescued her lover from the Blue Suns. The fact that the Illusive Man knew about the Broker's involvement in that matter meant he probably had some kind of intelligence on them, and the fact that Shepard had been working for him ever since meant that he might have some clue as to what was wrong with the Spectre.

Walking over to her terminal, Liara began opening up her old files on Cerberus, refreshing her memories. In the almost two years in-between the hand-over of Shepard's body and her return, Liara had begun an investigation into the human supremacist group, hoping to learn if they were doing as they'd promised with her commander. She'd made enough progress to confirm massive spending on some kind of bleeding edge bio-tech project, but after she'd known that Shepard was alive, she'd given up on that line of research, focusing instead on her hunt for the Broker. That had been a mistake, and as she pulled up her list of medical supply companies who she knew had done business with Cerberus, it was one she vowed she would not make a second time.

* * *

><p>It was two days after their little romp in the hold before she and Shepard talked again, at least beyond just saying, "Hey," while they passed each other in the halls on the <em>Normandy<em>. It wasn't that she'd been avoiding Shepard, the convict told herself, just that the commander had been busy. After Pragia, it had been straight off to Omega, where Shepard was running some sort of errand for that big-breasted Justicar they'd picked up. That meant shore leave for the rest of the crew, leave Jack was spending at the sort of vile hole in the wall she liked to drink in.

She was enjoying her third round of the evening from atop a stool she'd kicked a smart-mouthed turian off of when the commander came in. The well-groomed red-head looked about three cuts too good for the place but her shiny guns and armor discouraged anyone from commenting on that fact as she crossed the bar room.

"Hey," the red-head said, taking an open seat next to Jack, "Nice spot you've got here."

"Yeah, well, it's out of the way," Jack replied with a shrug. "How'd you find me anyway?"

"I'm pretty good at that sort of thing," Shepard told her, returning the shrug and telling the tattooed asari working the bar that she'd have one of whatever Jack was drinking. "Special forces training and all that. Anyway, I thought you might want to talk."

"About what?" Jack took a swig of her drink. It stung her throat, but in a way she kind of enjoyed. "We fucked. It's not a big deal."

Her words were dismissive, but Shepard wasn't sure if she really felt so little or if that was just part of the uncaring façade the biotic usually wore. Not wanting to pressure Jack about it in either case, Shepard didn't focus on the convict's feelings. "Maybe it wasn't for you," she told Jack, "But I was pretty much a wreck and you straightened my head out." She took a slug of the brown liquor in her glass, swallowing the burning liquid before she had to taste too much of it. "Did you hear what my mission on Omega was, anyway?"

"Some shit for Samara," Jack replied.

"Well, yeah, but it wasn't the kind of work I usually do. She had me acting as the bait for an asari sex vampire." A little shiver of remembered and confusing desire ran through her as she recalled the way the Ardat-Yakshi had looked at her, the dark pleasures her eyes had promised. "How well do you think that would have gone two days ago?"

That idea got a laugh out of Jack. "Not good. You were pretty much a horny mess."

"I was," she agreed. She'd held out, resisting Morinth's advances until Samara arrived, but in the state she'd been in before Jack's help, she doubted she would have managed half as well. "And I owe you one for fixing that."

"Nah," Jack shook her head, uncomfortable with the expression of gratitude. Not only did she not like asking for favors, she didn't want anybody else to owe them to her. Those kind of ties just complicated things. Better to keep it simple. Less chance of getting hurt that way. "You helped me on Pragia," she told Shepard, "And besides, I got off too. You don't owe me shit."

Shepard didn't agree, but she wasn't going to argue the point, given how uncomfortable it seemed to make Jack. "Fair enough. We'll call it even."

For a few minutes, the two women sat in silence, finishing off their drinks. Once her glass was empty, Shepard wasn't really keen for another one, and the Spectre stood up, leaving a few credits on the bar to cover their tabs. "See you back at the ship," she told the biotic, but before she got all the way off her stool, Jack stopped her.

The convict couldn't quite put a name to what she was feeling, but in a single, impulsive moment, she decided she didn't want to leave things like that. Shepard had been the best fuck she could remember, and she was a friend, so why the hell not say something? "Hey, Shep," she told the Spectre, "You know, what happened, I wouldn't mind doing it again some time."

Shepard smiled at the reluctant compliment. "Neither would I," she replied and as the commander sat back down for one more drink, she reflected that while it still wasn't romance, right then, it'd do.

* * *

><p>"What do you have to report, Operative Lawson?"<p>

Miranda instinctively straightened her already-excellent posture as she faced the Illusive Man's holographic image. With Shepard busy on Omega, it was a good time for her to use the _Normandy_'s communication array without the commander being any the wiser. "There's been a significant development, sir," she told her boss, "Shepard has had sex with Subject Zero."

The leader of Cerberus took a long drag on his cigarette before he answered. "I see. This wasn't our optimal scenario, was it?"

"No, sir," she agreed, "But it a possibility we foresaw, and certainly one that we can exploit."

He nodded. "Agreed. Do you know if the relationship is ongoing?"

"It's too soon to say, but I don't think it will matter. In either case, there should be more than sufficient attachment if we have to activate our contingency plan."

"I'll trust your judgment in this matter, Miranda." The threat beneath his words was unspoken but clearly understood none the less. If she was wrong and Shepard didn't stay under their control, Miranda would be the one who'd take the blame for that failure. "Are there any other developments I should know about?"

"No, sir. Everything else is on schedule. We've recruited all of the personnel in the dossiers you gave Shepard, and she continues to build her relationships with the rest of the crew. She really does have a talent for that kind of interaction."

"Very good." He crushed out his cigarette before lighting a fresh one, the digital smoke swirling around his face. "There is one thing you should be aware of, however. Doctor T'Soni has begun making inquiries into your work on Shepard. She's done this before, during the Lazarus Project, but her resources are greater at this point and she may be able to make inroads."

"Should we eliminate her?" Miranda had first suggested that course of action after Cerberus had received the commander's body out of concern that Liara's past relationship with Shepard would prove an obstacle to their plans.

"I still don't think that would be wise," the Illusive Man cautioned her. "If Shepard's desire for revenge becomes stronger than her attachments, we could lose control of the situation. No, I have another way. We can both get rid of the doctor and get Shepard to thank us for our role in doing so. I'll send you the details."

The Illusive Man ended their connection and as she began perusing the file he transmitted to her, Miranda's face took on a small, determined smile. Certainly, the road they were going down was dangerous, but it was the one she had chosen to walk. The galaxy would not be saved from the Reapers by half-measures, but she was determined that one way or another, it would be saved.

* * *

><p><strong>And now we're off to the new material in earnest. A tough chapter for poor Liara I'd say. Please let me know what you thought of it and thanks for reading.<br>**


	5. Chapter 5

"So, uh, Shepard," Garrus began, clearly hesitant to broach whatever topic was on his mind, "About you and Jack…"

"Is this really the best time to talk about it?", Shepard asked tersely as the sound of Geth rifle fire sang through the sky about the two soldiers. The commander popped out from behind the fallen stone column she was using for cover, snapping off a shot that caught one of the Geth troopers in the head before ducking back down. "We're a little busy at the moment."

"Well, it's hard to find the time, what with the Collectors luring us into one trap after another," Garrus replied, activating an overload pulse that disabled the shields of an approaching Pyro before striking it's fuel tank with a round from his Widow. The Geth exploded in a burst of flame, and Garrus continued, "Look, what you do is your business, but I'm worried about Liara. How do you think she's going to react when she hears about this? I don't know what happened between you two on Ilium but…"

"Liara and I…" Shepard paused to roll a grenade in the direction of the last remaining Geth, catching a rocket trooper and two others in a fiery blast. "We're not together any more."

"What happened?", Garrus asked, taking advantage of the lull in the attacks to pick up some spare thermal clips for his sniper rifle, taking care to stay out of the harsh light of the Haestrom sun.

"I don't really want to talk about it." How could she, given her reasons? "Anyway, how do you even know about Jack and I?"

"It's a small ship," the turian observed in that dry tone of his, "And Jack can be somewhat loud."

Beneath her helmet, Shepard suspected she was blushing fiercely and in an effort to avoid any more conversation on the topic, she radioed Tali. "How's it coming?", she asked the quarian. "You get your lot taken care of yet?"

In the background, she heard a shotgun blast. "That's the last of them," the quarian assured her. "I'll head back down and rendezvous with you two in a minute."

Shepard signed off with Tali, but unfortunately, Garrus wasn't letting their previous topic of conversation drop so easily. "Shepard," he told her, "I don't want to be a pain in the ass here, but as your friend, I'm a little worried about you. You'd been acting tense for weeks, then you and Liara broke up, and now you're sleeping with Jack. I'm not saying she isn't good in a fight, but she's not exactly the picture of mental health either."

The commander sighed. "Garrus, I appreciate your concern, but I know what I'm doing. And Jack is… more complicated than she seems. She's making a lot of progress."

She wasn't the only one either. Though the commander still had little idea what to make of their arrangement, Jack's help had gone a long way to bringing the Spectre off of the ledge she'd been on that night in the cargo hold when they'd first hooked up. The sex was a big part of it, sure, but it was more than just that. The biotic had a way of keeping Shepard out of her own head, of making the strangeness both in her body and all around them feel like it wasn't the end of the world.

Before any more could be said, Tali made her reappearance, the engineer strolling down the ramp preceded by the glowing ball of light that was her drone. Garrus quickly shut up, having clearly decided not to continue their talk with Tali there, but though the conversation turned back to their mission, Shepard's thoughts lingered on her friend's words. She'd been certain Liara would be disgusted by her new body, that she was protecting her former lover by staying away. Now, she worried that she was just going to hurt the asari in another way, one that, unlike her change, she actually was responsible for.

* * *

><p>"So, anyway, apparently half the ship knows about us."<p>

Jack shrugged at Shepard's statement. "So they know we're fucking", she snorted. "What's the problem with that?" The biotic started unlacing her boots as she added, "And speaking of fucking, I thought that's what we were here for."

The commander wasn't taking the bait though, keeping her distance from Jack as she protested, "It's a little more complicated than that."

"Isn't it always with you, girl scout?" Jack tossed away her boots and flopped down on the big bed in the commander's quarters, which, she had to admit, was a lot more fun to screw on than her tiny cot. "All right, I'll humor you. What the fuck's the problem this time? It's not like they known about your dick, right?"

"It's my ex," Shepard told her. "That asari on Ilium, Liara, who gave us the intel on Thane and Samara. was part of my crew on the old _Normandy_. We used to be together and I don't want this getting back to her."

Jack could hear pain in the commander's voice as she talked about Liara, and for some reason, it bothered her. She wasn't sure why. It wasn't like she and Shepard were a real thing, and even if they were, why should she give a fuck who the commander had slept with before they met up? "So," she said with a shrug, trying to cover her discomfort, "Who cares if she finds out? You two are done, right?"

"We are," Shepard agreed, "But I'm still not sure she'd take it well, and I don't want to hurt her any more than I need to. I've done enough damage already."

"Jesus, Shepard," Jack laughed, "You really are the galaxy's biggest girl scout. I mean, here you are on a suicide mission, running around fixing the problems of me and every other head case on this ship, and you're still worried you might be an asshole. Trust me." The biotic reached up and grabbed her lover's belt, yanking her down on the bed next to her. "I've known plenty of assholes and you ain't one of them."

In spite of her obvious discomfort with the topic, Shepard smiled. Goddamn it, Jack thought unexpectedly, she really did have a great smile. "Thanks," the commander chuckled, before asking a second later, "Jack, have you ever actually met a girl scout?"

Jack rolled her eyes at the question. The truth was that because of her fucked-up childhood, she'd never met a girl scout, or a cheerleader, or done any of those other, normal types of things that regular little kids got to do. "Nah," she confessed, "Just heard about them from vids and shit. They're supposed to be friendly, and help people out, and crap like that, right? Kind of sounds like you."

"They also sell cookies," Shepard informed her with a widening smile.

"Cookies, huh?" Jack laughed. "I wish you'd get some of those here. I've eaten enough k-rations on this boat to last a krogan's lifetime."

"Sorry, no such luck," Shepard shrugged. "I guess I'm not much of a girl scout after all."

"Nah, fuck the cookies," Jack replied, a devilish grin spreading across her face as she began to unbutton her cargo pants. "I have something else you can eat instead."

* * *

><p>Liara closed the message on her terminal screen, frowning deeply as she got up and paced across the floor of her apartment. She'd sent all of the invoices associated with the Lazarus Project that she'd been able to find to a bio-medical researcher back on Thessia who owed her a favor, and Doctor L'Rai's analysis was unsettling to say the least. Most of what it suggested was what one would have expected given the nature of the project: investment in bleeding edge cellular regeneration and tissue re-growing technologies, work on the preservation of stored neurological information, and other relatively innocuous expenses.<p>

According to the doctor, however, there was something out of place. Some of the purchases and hires apparently only made sense if Cerberus intended to alter Shepard's nervous system and hormones as they reconstructed her, and worrying about what those changes might have been sent shivers of guilt through the asari's troubled thoughts.

Brushing back the tears that threatened to form in her blue eyes, she walked over to the case that held the piece of the commander's armor that she'd recovered along with her body. Her hand brushed over the cool glass, and the information broker whispered, "Oh my love, what did I let them do to you?"

It hadn't been an easy decision for Liara, helping Cerberus to obtain Shepard's body, and giving it to the human supremacist group afterwards had been one of the most painful things she'd ever done. She'd feared that they'd fail, feared that they'd use Shepard to advance their own schemes, and perhaps more than anything, she'd feared this. Feared that the Illusive Man would bring back her lost love, but change her, twisting the Spectre she'd fallen for in Goddess only knew what way.

Whatever it took, Liara needed to make this right, but before she could do that, she had to know exactly what it was that had happened in the first place. She needed more information, and one of the few places she could think to start was with someone else who'd spoken to the commander both before and after the Collector attack. Garrus or Tali would have been good choices, but as crew members aboard the new _Normandy_, there was too great a risk that any message she sent to them would be monitored by Cerberus. Still, if the reports that had crossed her desk were to be believed, there was someone else she could call.

* * *

><p>"Liara?" Ashley Williams smiled when she saw the asari's face on the other end of the call. "It's been too long." Since shortly after the first <em>Normandy<em> was destroyed, Liara realized. Over two long, bitter years ago.

"Indeed," the information broker agreed. "And I am sorry for that." After Shepard had died, she'd cut herself off from the rest of the crew, losing herself first in grief and then in work and the desire for revenge, feelings that Cerberus had exploited all too easily.

"You were hurting," Ashley replied gently before adding, "We all were." Liara just nodded. Her pain was far from past, but she couldn't let it control her anymore. Shepard needed her and the galaxy needed Shepard. "She's back now though," the marine told Liara. "I don't know if you've seen her…"

"I have," Liara replied flatly, "And that is why I called you. Something…" How best to put this? "Something is different about her."

"Well, she's working for Cerberus," Ashley said with an angry snort. "That's a pretty big change. I mean, you were there with us when we fought those assholes. You saw the experiments, the dead marines: how does it make any sense that the Commander Shepard we knew would join up with the people behind that?"

"That is part of my concern," Liara said tentatively, her own part in bringing about Shepard's new allegiance causing a fresh pang of guilt to spike in her gut . "But I think there may be something more going on here. A deeper change. When you spoke with her on Horizon, did something seem wrong?"

Ashley paused, running her fingers through her long, dark hair as she thought back to the meeting that had prompted Liara's call. It was a mark of how much things had changed between them that the asari had made it at all. When she'd first joined the crew of the _Normandy_, Ashley had been suspicious of her intentions and disapproving of her relationship with Shepard, one of the last members of the crew to warm to her. She had though, day by day, and Liara had learned that although a marine's friendship wasn't always easily given, it was also most reliable.

"I think there was something, now that you mention it," Ashley finally told her, "But it's hard to define. Shepard was, I don't know, off somehow when we talked. In the old days, she was always patient with everyone but on Horizon she seemed really on edge. And uncomfortable too. I put it down to her having died plus working for Cerberus, but do you think there's more to it than that?"

"I do," Liara confirmed. "I believe that Cerberus may have modified Shepard somehow, and that her unusual behavior could be a reaction whatever changes they made." She could see the look of disgust on the marine's face at the idea, and she decided to see if her old comrade was willing to go further. "Ashley," she told her, "I need to do some further research into this matter, but if I Cerberus really has done something to Shepard, it may be up to us to help her. Can I rely on you?"

"Of course," the marine said, no hesitation in her voice. "Just let me know; I'll find a way to get some leave." Liara smiled gratefully at her, and Ashley added, "Don't worry, Liara, we'll get these bastards and fix the skipper up right."

The call ended and as Ashley's image, faded from her screen, Liara's smile turned rueful. She wished she could share the marine's optimism about a happy ending, but if her time in the information business had taught her anything, it was that sometimes, the bastards won.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about the multiple postings; something's been wonky about the document for this chapter.**

* * *

><p>"What's up, babe?"<p>

Shepard looked up from her terminal at the tattooed biotic lying naked in her bed. She was getting used to Jack sticking around after sex, and even though her lover hadn't made a big deal about the change, the commander still felt like it meant something that she wasn't so quick to grab for her clothes after they finished. Of course, right now what it meant was that Jack was there for what might prove to be an awkward revelation.

"It's a message from the Illusive Man," she told the convict.

She snorted. "What's that asshole want?"

"He's giving me something, actually. Intel to help find the Shadow Broker."

Jack shook her head derisively. "Why? What's in it for him?"

"Not sure." Though she shared the convict's suspicions, Shepard hadn't considered the question yet. Instead, her first thought had been that perhaps the intelligence could serve as a peace offering to Liara. She still felt lousy about having hurt the asari the last time they met, and though the Spectre couldn't give her former lover what they both wanted, she could at least help her out. "Liara's been looking for the Broker," she added by way of explanation to Jack.

"Your ex, the intel dealer? What's she want with the Shadow Broker?"

"Not sure about that either." Jack rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. I'm a really great Spectre, aren't I?", Shepard said with a laugh. "Always on top of everything."

The biotic shrugged. "You do okay."

Shepard put on her best offended voice. "Gee, thanks a lot for the vote of confidence, Jack."

"Aw, you hurt?" Jack sprang to her feet, crossing the room and wrapping her arms around the Spectre's back. "Want me to apologize, girl scout?"

Her hands started over down the baggy t-shirt Shepard had thrown on after sex, cupping the Spectre's full breasts and roughly tweaking her nipples through the thin fabric. They stiffened and Jack laughed, a smug smile on her pretty face. "Aw, turned on again already?", she teased her. "You really can't get enough of me, can you?"

Shepard might have protested, but Jack's fingers were already wandering down to her boxers and when they brushed over her stiffening cock, she knew there was no sense in denying it. "I guess not," she confessed. "This thing really does give me away, doesn't it?"

Jack's hand slid inside her shorts, gripping the warm flesh she found there. The commander was still sensitive from her earlier climax and it was almost painful when she throbbed against Jack's palm. "Or was it thinking about your little blue ex-girlfriend that got you all hot?", the convict asked. Her voice was hard to read, superficially playful but with a note of something that could've been jealousy beneath it. Either way though, Shepard's powers of observation weren't exactly at their best, not with Jack starting to jerk her off while they conversed.

"Listen," she told the biotic, biting her lip as she tried her best to concentrate on talking, "We're not together anymore, but I do still have feeling for Liara. Is that a problem?"

Jack stopped what her hand had been doing, instead bending down to nip the commander's ear. "You don't owe me anything, Shep. Just don't bullshit me."

"I'm not."

"I know," Jack agreed. "Otherwise, I'd leave you blue-balled." Her hand started pumping Shepard's erection once more, and the commander was rapidly finding it hard to think about anything else. The biotic definitely knew what she was doing, and when she pulled Shepard's chair away from the desk and circled around it, the Spectre's breath caught in her throat.

Jack dropped to her knees in front of her, yanking Shepard's boxers off in a rough motion and exposing her cock to the cool air of the cabin. Full lips enveloped the head and Jack gave it a hard little suck, making the commander jerk in her mouth. "Shit," the commander groaned, "You really don't mess around, do you?"

"You complaining?" Jack had pulled her mouth off enough to answer, but to compensate, she started jerking the her lover once more, her strong fingers heavenly on Shepard's sensitive flesh.

"No," was all Shepard could manage to reply, sinking down into the chair as she gave herself over to the pleasure she was feeling.

"Good." Jack's mouth swallowed her up once more and the commander stopped talking entirely. The convict was as relentless as always, her head bobbing up and down on Shepard's dick while staring up at her lover with a devilish gleam in her brown eyes.

Shepard didn't try to hold off her climax, and Jack wasn't trying to help her do so. A few minutes of vigorous sucking were enough to push the Spectre close to the edge, but even as her cock started twitching in Jack's mouth, the convict suddenly pulled back. The commander was confused; Jack had never been shy about swallowing before, but then her partner took her erection and pointed it at her tattooed chest. At the realization of what the biotic wanted her to do, Shepard pulsed with excitement and when Jack gave her one more firm stroke, she lost control completely.

Waves of pleasure ran through her whole body as she came, spurts of her release flying out to cover Jack's pert breasts with sticky trails of the thick liquid. The biotic let her pulse several more times in her hand before covering the commander's cock head with her mouth once more, sucking the last of her orgasm out with a force that left Shepard seeing stars. "Jesus, Jack," she mumbled, "That was… unexpected."

"Yeah, but you kind of dug it, right?", the convict replied, swallowing down Shepard's come. Shepard could only manage a nod as her lover got back up. "Besides," Jack laughed, "So what if you made a mess? That's why that Illusive asshole gave you this sweet shower, right?"

Shepard laughed along with her lover, shaking her head at Jack's words. She wasn't sure she'd want to share the biotic's cavalier outlook on life, but she couldn't deny it had done her a world of good.

* * *

><p>This time, Liara was ready to see her. At least, that's what the asari had been trying to convince herself ever since she got the message informing her that her former lover was on her way back to Ilium. Still, when Commander Shepard actually walked into her office, the information broker's heart caught in her chest. The powerful Spectre carried herself better than she had the last time they spoke, Liara thought, looking more like her old self again. She didn't seem as tense as she had before, and though she still looked uneasy, the fear that the asari had seen after their last kiss was absent.<p>

"It's good to see you again, Shepard." The information broker was trying her best to keep her anxieties out of her voice, not wanting to spook the Spectre once more. "Where is the rest of your crew?"

"Shore leave. We're almost ready to take the fight to the Collectors, and I wanted to give everybody a chance to blow off a little steam first." She reached into her pocket, pulling out an OSD. "I had something else to do. This is for you."

Liara took the drive. "What is on it?"

"Intelligence on the Shadow Broker. I know you've been trying to find him, and this might help."

"That's wonderful." Liara paused, a suspicious thought occurring to her. "Where did you come across this information?"

"Cerberus, actually. I'm not sure why the Illusive Man wants to help you out, but we're not really in a position to turn down aid these days." She laughed. "At least I'm not."

Liara turned the gift over in her hand. Unlike Shepard, she did have an idea of why the Illusive Man was doing this. He must have gotten wind of her investigation and wanted to divert her from it. The intelligence was a ploy, and yet, that didn't mean she could ignore it. The Broker really was a threat, especially since he was apparently allied with the Collectors that her love was going to be facing soon.

"Thank you," she told the commander, slipping the drive into her pocket. "I'll need some time to check this out and make sure the intelligence is reliable. Do you think you will be on Ilium long enough to help me follow up if I need your help?"

"I'd love to." Shepard smiled as she said the words, but Liara knew her ex well enough to detect some ambivalence in her voice. The human wasn't the only one feeling that way. Being so close to the woman she wanted without being able to have her was going to be exceedingly difficult for Liara, but this had to be done. Closer observation would give her a chance to find out what was really behind Shepard's behavior, a puzzle that seemed to be acquiring more layers by the day.

* * *

><p>Leaving Liara's office, Shepard's cheerful front collapsed, the Spectre tangling a hand in her red hair and yanking on it as she growled in frustration. It wasn't quite as hard to see Liara without the incredible frustration she'd been carrying the last time, but that didn't make it easy. Seeing the beautiful asari again made her heart ache with how much she missed her.<p>

Things like this didn't used to happen to Shepard. Before she'd met the archeologist two years ago, she'd been a heartbreaker, someone who was a lot better at inspiring love than reciprocating it. She'd enjoyed the string of one-night stands and short relationships that went with the special-ops lifestyle, not too worried about finding something deeper.

Liara had changed all that. Her kindness, her intelligence, and her hidden strength had inspired a passion that the Spectre had never felt until then. Before the Collector attack, Shepard had started imagining things with her: a real relationship, a future together, maybe even children some day. Those dreams had been interrupted by her death and unwanted transformation, but being around the asari once more had left Shepard with no doubt that a part of her still wanted them to come true.

And yet, the commander had to admit that she'd started having feelings for Jack as well. The two women had nothing in common aside from powerful biotics and, she noted with a rueful smile, very pretty eyes, but the convict was special all the same. Shepard was finding herself falling for Jack's reckless determination and her surprising tenderness, and really, she wasn't sure what to do about any of this.

Plopping herself down on a bench in the Nos Astra market-place, the Spectre shook her head at her own situation. Here she was on a mission to save the galaxy and her heart decided that getting her into a love triangle was a good idea. Inevitably, someone was going to end up hurt, possibly more than one person, and it was probably going to be her fault. Christ, but she was starting to feel that a suicide mission might really be the easier way out.

* * *

><p>"Hello, Ms. Vasir."<p>

The asari Spectre had good reason to be suspicious of the face on the screen in front of her. For one thing, it wasn't exactly a face, the features of the person she was talking to digitally obscured, the call coming from a blocked extra-net address. The only reason Tela Vasir had answered it at all was that it had come in on her private line and that number was difficult to come by.

"Who am I talking to?" She didn't really expect an straight answer, but the type of evasion she got back might be revealing.

"Someone with whom you share a common problem. Liara T'Soni has been looking into your employer." The caller's voice had been altered too, even their species hard to discern. Whoever this was, secrecy was clearly paramount to them.

The Spectre kept her response formal. "Like any citizen, Doctor T'Soni is free to enquire into the Council's business."

"Not the Council. Your other employer."

Tela Vasir felt a twinge of worry at that. She'd worked with the Shadow Broker several times in the past. His intelligence had helped her to safeguard Council interests, and the money he paid went a long way towards funding her operations. If he demanded the occasional favor in return, it was all for the greater good. Still, she wasn't keen to have the fact that she'd worked for him come out into the open. The galaxy seldom wanted to know what it took for Spectres to protect it properly.

Sensing her concern, the person at the other end of the call reassured her, "Don't worry, I have no interest it exposing you. Doctor T'Soni, on the other hand, may not feel the same way."

"What does she know? That pureblood is an inconvenience, nothing more. She's been pursuing dead ends."

"I wouldn't be so certain. I have reason to believe she's recently come into possession of intelligence that could compromise the Broker's location. I'm sending you a file with the details of her new contacts. Verify them yourself if you don't believe me."

"I will," she assured the caller. "But I still want to know your interest in this matter."

"Let's just say that the Doctor is an impediment to my employer as well, and they wouldn't mind seeing her interference ended for good."

Miranda Lawson ended the call and turned off her system's scramblers. The trap was set. She was confident the information she'd sent Tela Vasir would check out; after all, it was Cerberus who'd given Liara the leads on the Broker in the first place. The doctor would soon be dead, her investigation into the Lazarus Project would be over, and Shepard might well turn to Cerberus for help in tracking down the Broker to exact revenge. Miranda couldn't help but admire the Illusive Man's efficiency. This would all be tied up with a nice little bow in time for them to hit the Collector base, and no one would be the wiser.

* * *

><p><strong>And now we head into a particularly messed up version of Lair of the Shadow Broker. Hope you're looking forward to it.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**So, I'm not going to recount all of LotSB, just the parts that are different/significant in this story. Plus, as you'll see there's definitely a lot of scenes not in that DLC at all.**

* * *

><p>Liara paced across the floor of her apartment, trying to settle her jangled nerves. Cerberus' information had proven to be more useful than she could have hoped for. It included coordinate data from a series of calls made by key Shadow Broker operatives to their master that, if properly triangulated, might at last lead the asari to her quarry. What's more, the calls suggested that Feron, whom she'd always assumed the Broker's men had killed was alive and his prisoner, offering a chance at a rescue she'd never believed possible.<p>

The Shadow Broker, Shepard, Feron, Cerberus… Everything that had filled her thoughts for the last two years was coming to a head, and it was all a bit overwhelming to the frazzled asari. With a huff, she stopped her pacing short, running a hand along the top of her crest.

That small act of frustration might well have saved her life. The crack of shattered glass and the explosion of floor tiles burst into her awareness so quickly that she had no time to think, only react. On instinct, the asari pulled up her barriers, the glittering energy field surrounding her just ahead of the second shot. The sniper round blew through the reinforced windows of her apartment but not her shields, knocking Liara backwards yet leaving her unharmed.

Before there could be a third shot, the asari dove to the ground, rolling across the floor towards a position behind the staircase that couldn't be seen from the window. Reaching cover, Liara took a moment to catch her breath and she silently thanked Shepard for teaching her that bit of tactical wisdom. She had learned so much from her lover, about so many things, and she wouldn't let those debts go unpaid.

The shooting didn't resume, the assassin having apparently decided to cut their losses, which gave Liara a chance for reflection. The timing of this attack couldn't be a coincidence, she decided. Someone knew she was getting close to the Broker, and that put not only her but the others she'd involved in her investigation in danger. Shepard could take care of herself, the powerful Spectre generally living in a constant state of alert given the variety of people trying to kill her, but Sekat, her contact analyzing the Broker data was another matter.

Her first thought was to call the salarian and warn him, but she realized that her communications might be monitored right now. There was no time to lose either; certainly not enough of it to wait for Shepard to get to her apartment. The commander would just have to catch up with her.

Reinforcing her barriers in case the sniper was waiting her out, Liara emerged from her hiding place. No new shot came, and she quickly transferred a copy of the relevant data onto a backup disc and hid it in case of intruders before leaving the apartment.

The asari's heart was pounding in her chest as she waited for the elevator to arrive, but she realized that in spite of that, she felt better than she had in some time. She'd spent much of the last two years behind a desk, pulling carefully on one thread after another, buried in minutiae, and grief, and confusion, and it was almost a relief to have someone actually shooting at her again.

* * *

><p>No sooner had the elevator doors opened than Shepard's green eyes widened in surprise. Electronic police barriers were marking off the entrance to Liara's apartment and behind them, she could see a bevy of Nos Astra law enforcement officers standing there. "Liara!", she blurted out, running past the cops' startled protests and into the large living room.<p>

"Commander Shepard." The asari who addressed her from the other side of the apartment wasn't her ex-girlfriend, but rather a striking, dark-skinned woman in combat armor. "Tela Vasir. Special Tactics and Recon," she said by way of introduction. The other Spectre gestured to the officers surrounding Shepard to back off. "Don't worry, girls," she told the cops, "Let her in."

"But, ma'am…" a young, teal-skinned officer started to protest.

"Leave us." Tela Vasir's voice left no room for debate and the apartment rapidly emptied of everyone but the two Spectres and the team Shepard had brought with her.

"What happened?", Shepard asked, noting with no small relief that while there were bullet holes in the windows and some damage to the floor of the apartment, there was no body anywhere to be seen.

"Heard a report about a shooting here and decided to check it out. Your friend, Doctor T'Soni, has made quite a name for herself in Nos Astra these last two years. What about you? What brought you here?"

"Catching up with an old friend while on shore leave," Shepard responded. She still didn't know what this Spectre's angle might be and she didn't want to give away too much until she did. Meanwhile, the people she'd brought with her were starting to explore the apartment, Mordin studying the bullet holes in the glass and Kasumi simply slinking around the luxurious domicile and inspecting seemingly random objects.

"Two shots," the salarian interjected. "With powerful sniper rifle most likely. No blood though. Shots either missed or were blocked. Would need to calculate trajectories of impact to be sure."

"We don't have that kind of time," Tela Vasir told them. "Your friend isn't here and whoever attacked her is probably still be on the hunt. Do you have any idea of where she might have gone?"

"No," Shepard admitted, "We were supposed to meet here before we went out."

"Well, look around. You know her. Maybe she left a clue for you."

Shepard joined Kasumi in her inspection of the apartment. It was very nice, certainly more expensive than any place the human Spectre had ever called home, but what caught her eye were the mementoes of Liara's time aboard the _Normandy_: the painting of Ilos hanging on the wall, the photo of their old ship by Liara's bed, the piece of armor sitting in a case…

The Spectre froze as she realized what she was looking at. This wasn't just a piece of armor, it came from the suit she'd been wearing the day of the Collector attack, the day she'd died. If Liara had it, there were only two possibilities: she'd gotten it from Cerberus, which made no sense, or… That had to be it. Liara had been involved in the original recovery of her body. Had her lover given her to Cerberus? She couldn't have know what they planned to do with her, could she? Not all of it. No way.

"Got it." Her troubling thoughts were temporarily banished by Kasumi, the thief holding up a data disk. "It was hidden under one of these expensive prothean doo-dads she's got all over the place."

"Great work," the Spectre told Kasumi, trying to cover her distraction. "Let's see what's on it."

The thief put the disk into a drive on the wall and the recording of a call between Liara and a salarian appeared on a screen above them. The frightened alien was apparently helping Liara to process the Shadow Broker intelligence Cerberus had given Shepard, and they were arranging to meet in his office at the Dracon Trade Center.

"That's where she must have gone," Tela Vasir remarked. "She wanted to get to the contact before the assassin could."

"Then that's where we're going too," Shepard agreed, trying not to panic. She reminded herself that Liara knew what she was doing, but at the same time, the waters were definitely starting to get deep.

* * *

><p>"This place fucking sucks." Jack slammed her empty shot glass down on the table, motioning to the asari behind the bar for another drink. "Looks like an airport longue."<p>

Zaeed gave her a skeptical look. "Not my cup of bloody tea either, but this is Ilium. Whole city's too damn clean. Still don't think that's what's got your knickers in a bunch."

"Nah," Jack conceded, slamming down another shot of what she had to admit was excellent asari brandy even if the place serving it was a drag. "It's Shepard."

"What's your problem?", Zaeed snorted. "Half the ship wanted a piece of that ass and you're the one who got it." He took another pull on his beer. "Wouldn't have minded a go myself."

Jack smirked, thinking that the old mercenary might feel differently if he knew what Shepard had between her legs. Or not. Some guys dug that kind of thing. "Yeah, I did," she agreed, "But now she's dragging us all the way out here to Ilium just so she can hang out with that blue ex of hers."

"I thought you were fucking Shepard, not looking for a bloody ring. Sounds to me like you might be getting sweet on her."

"Fuck you." She punched the mercenary in the arm, but denying the truth of what he said was harder. Most of the people she'd fucked before were either pussies who ran off once they got to know her or assholes who tried to screw her over. Shepard, though… Jack had to admit that girl was different, way too tough to scare but still a big girl scout at heart. Plus pretty damn good in the sack… Fuck if she wasn't getting attached.

"It's not that," Jack said, not willing to admit her feelings to Zaeed. "It's just… Liara's this rich, perfect little asari bitch, and it'd really piss me off if Shep ditched me for somebody like that."

"I'm sure," Zaeed said dryly as he took another drink, and not even hitting him in the arm again was able to make Jack feel any better about her situation.

* * *

><p>"Drones on your 10, Mordin!"<p>

Their trip to the Dracon Trade Center hadn't exactly gone smoothly. No sooner had the team arrived at the building then its top floors exploded. Unsure if Liara was alive or dead, Shepard had led her people up through the burning, mercenary-filled wreckage, only to find the information broker unharmed but facing down Tela Vasir, who she'd revealed to be behind both of the attempts on her life that day.

A chase had ensued, and even after she was finally run to ground on a rooftop high above the city, the asari Spectre had proved to be worthy of her title, at least as a combatant. Still, Shepard was confident they finally had her on the ropes, the bleeding, panting Tela Vasir forced to call in more reinforcements as she reeled from their attacks.

Mordin whirled to face the incoming drones. "On it. Deploying incineration tech."

The salarian fired off a burst of flame that caught the two flying attackers in its radius, and as their shields collapsed, Shepard followed up with a burst from her assault rifle, ripping apart their now-super-heated hulls.

While Shepard was firing, the enemy Spectre struck, her biotics propelling her through the air at her human counterpart. Liara was ready for her though, raising a powerful barrier that took the brunt of Tela Vasir's attack and threw her back several paces. The information broker was staggered as well, dropping to her knees with the strain of maintaining her defenses, and while she recovered, Shepard spun around to give her covering fire.

The commander emptied what was left of her clip at her enemy, catching the Spectre in the mid-section, but her increased barriers prevented any further harm to her already-cracked armor. The other asari aimed her shotgun at Liara and on instinct, Shepard hurled herself in front of the shot. Her shields shattered but her armor held and she lashed out with the butt of her rifle, smashing it into the asari's shielded face.

Tela Vasir staggered backwards and while she was off-balance, Liara rose, summoning up a powerful biotic blast and hurling it into the enemy Spectre. Her target skidded backwards, her barriers knocked down as she impacted hard into the railing at the edge of the sky-scrapper. The asari tried to get back to her feet, but two shots from Mordin's Carnifex shattered her chest-plate and sent fresh streams of purple blood pouring down her armor even as her shotgun fell from her hands.

The downed Spectre coughed, a hacking, defeated sound. "Set-up," she muttered to herself.

Shepard knelt next to her enemy. "What do you mean?"

"It was a set-up. Just not sure if…" She gasped, fresh drops of blood coating her dark lips. "If it was for me or her."

The human shook her head. After all the civilians the other Spectre had killed trying to murder Liara, she wasn't exactly sympathetic. "Serves you right," she snapped. "A Spectre, working for the Shadow Broker. You disgraced everything we're supposed to stand for."

"Screw you. Broker intel saved lives. Besides, Cerberus worse. Biotic death camps for kids… Killing admirals… No right to judge…"

She didn't finish her last sentence, slumping down to the ground even as Mordin joined them, the doctor bending down to check her pulse.

"Dead," he told them. "Too much blood loss. Amazed she made it this long."

"Does she still have Sekat's data?", Liara asked, not sounding too interested in the dead Spectre at her feet.

A quick search of Tela Vasir's body uncovered the murdered salarian informant's files in a pouch of her armor. "Here," she told her ex, handing her the drive.

"I'm sorry if I am being cold," Liara said, "But if we do not find the Shadow Broker, then all this death will have been for nothing."

The asari turned away from Shepard, and in spite of her tough demeanor, the commander could see her former lover's body shivering slightly. "Liara, wait. Are you okay? Talk to me."

"Shepard, I…" Her voice was soft, the asari trying to hold back the emotions roiling beneath the surface.

"I'm so sorry." Shepard wasn't sure exactly what she was apologizing for, but she couldn't escape the feeling that somehow, she was responsible for this. The Spectre wrapped her arms around Liara's waist and the asari pushed back into her embrace, nuzzling her crest against the Spectre's face. For just a moment, the warmth of her smooth skin took Shepard away from their situation and back to a better time, a time when everything had been right between them.

And then Liara pulled away. "We can't do this right now. I have to finish the mission."

Shepard took a deep breath, trying to collect herself. Liara was right; they couldn't do this now for a whole host of reasons, not the least of which were the secrets the information broker had been keeping from her. "What is it we have to finish anyway?", she asked suspiciously. "I was in your apartment, Liara. I saw that piece of my armor you have. What's going on here?"

"Oh, Goddess." Liara sighed. "I had hoped to find a better way for you to find out, but I suppose it's too late for that now. I was the one who retrieved your body, Shepard. Cerberus came to me for help and I gave it to them."

"You helped Cerberus?" Shepard couldn't keep anger out of her voice. "Liara, you knew what they were."

"I did." She could hear the asari's voice cracking, her guilt clear as day. "But they gave me a chance to bring you back."

Shepard took a deep breath. There was that. As hard as these past few months had been, she couldn't say the thought of staying a corpse was more appealing. "Fair enough," she conceded. "And the Shadow Broker? Where does he fit into all this?"

"He was trying to get your body as well, but for the Collectors. They nearly took you but someone I worked with, a drell named Feron, sacrificed himself so I get you out. I thought the Broker's men had killed him, but I just found out he's still alive." Liara buried her face in her hands. "The Broker has him. I have to make this right, Shepard. Feron, and the rest of it too."

"What do you mean? The rest of what?"

"Never mind, I…" The asari stepped further away from her, clearly not willing to discuss the matter any more. "We should get to the _Normandy_. The Broker will know what happened here soon enough and we'll want to reach him before he can move."

Shepard nodded. She knew Liara was right but goddamn it, every time she looked, this just got more complicated. Plans on top of plans, secrets beneath secrets; where was it all going to end?

* * *

><p>"The other Spectre failed?"<p>

Miranda kept her voice level. "Yes, sir. Liara is still alive, and Tela Vasir is dead."

"I see." The Illusive Man sounded disappointed, but not angry. "Where is she now?"

"With Shepard. They're on their way back to the _Normandy_. They have the Shadow Broker's location and they plan on confronting him."

The Illusive Man took a drag on his cigarette, considering this new information. "So be it. The Broker has been a problem in this past; his elimination could serve our purposes. However," he paused, crushing out his cigarette before continuing, "There is one caveat. Whatever else happens, we need Shepard's affair with Subject Zero to continue, especially considering how difficult the commander has been to control. Do not let Liara get in the way of that." Miranda nodded. Meddling in other people's romances wasn't exactly her favorite part of working for Cerberus, but a good operative did what she had to.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the hiatus on this story; it just took me a while to figure out how everything should line up.**

* * *

><p>"Liara! You're back!"<p>

Tali threw her arms around the surprised asari, her enthusiasm leaving Liara sputtering for words. "I am not," she tried to explain, "That is to say, not exactly. I am only going to be on the _Normandy_ for a short time. Shepard has agreed to help me defeat the Shadow Broker, after which we will go our separate ways once again."

The information broker tried not sound as sorry about that as she felt, but Tali clearly noticed her regret, because the quarian gave her a sympathetic, "Oh. Okay. Still," she added, trying to perk her friend up, "It's really good to have you on board, especially with all these Cerberus people here. I don't really trust any of them."

"A sensible precaution." Liara lowered her voice. "I would keep both eyes open, especially when dealing with Miranda Lawson."

"I will," Tali agreed. "Although down here in engineering it's most just me and Ken, and Gabby, so I don't see her very often except for on missions."

"And what about Shepard?", Liara asked. She wasn't sure how much of her suspicion she should reveal in a place that might well be bugged, so she just added, "Do you have a sense of how she's been these last few months? Is she…" She couldn't stop herself from asking the question, despite how foolish she knew she must sound. "Is she happy?"

"Happy?" Tali suddenly seemed uneasy. "I, uh, I don't really know. At first, when I saw her on Freedom's Progress, she seemed kind of miserable. Lately, though, I think she's better. I mean, I'm not sure if she's happy, but she's at least seemed less stressed out since…"

Her words trailed off, but Liara wasn't about to let the subject drop quite so easily. "Since what, Tali?"

The engineer backed off, her discomfort clearly growing by the moment. "I really shouldn't say. I don't think Shepard would want me to."

An urge to grab Tali, press her against the wall with her biotics, and force the answer out of her seized Liara but she fought it down, angry at herself for even considering doing such a thing to a friend. The hunt for the Broker along with this situation with Shepard had simply worn her nerves close to the bone, and she reminded herself to be patient. In time, the answers would come. Previously, she had hoped that Cerberus might lead her to the Shadow Broker; now that they had, perhaps he could return the favor. Once he was defeated, she would claim his secrets and hopefully, Cerberus' plans for Shepard would be among them.

* * *

><p>Miranda frowned, watching as Liara left engineering before shutting off the data feed to her screen. The quarian had been her last, best hope for a member of the crew revealing Shepard's relationship with Subject Zero to Liara but the commander's skill at inspiring loyalty had once more proven too great. It was an attribute that Cerberus prized, but right now, it was most irritating.<p>

Miranda could tell Liara herself of course. The information broker might not trust her, but she would believe the video proof that the operative could supply. Tali had removed the surveillance cameras from Shepard's cabin weeks ago, but the ones in Jack's hidey hole remained in place, and they'd captured her initial assignation with the commander in all it's sordid glory. A part of Miranda might even enjoy seeing the annoying asari's face as she watched the video, but the trouble was that giving it to her would further damage the operative's already shaky relationship with Shepard.

No, it would be far safer if the information didn't appear to come from Miranda at all. Even better would be if Liara thought she'd uncovered the secret on her own, rather than having it handed to her… The operative smiled to herself as she opened up an extranet connection. She knew exactly where to send that video.

* * *

><p>Shepard knew there was going to be trouble as soon as the doors of her cabin opened. They were still a few hours away from Hagalaz, the presumed location of the Shadow Broker, and now Jack was standing in her doorway, a no-nonsense expression on her face.<p>

"Hey, babe, what can I do…"

Jack cut her off before she could get any further. "I'm coming with you."

The commander bit her lip uncomfortably. These last two days, she'd been doing her best to keep her former lover and her current one from spending too much time together. Fortunately, Liara had been more interested in catching up with some of the old crew: Garrus, Tali, Joker, and Doctor Chakwas, while Jack had mostly remained in her hidey-hole. The red-headed commander just had to keep that streak going a little longer before this was over, and so she told Jack, "Actually, I was thinking of bringing Mordin."

"Screw that," the biotic insisted. "Everybody's been going on about how bad-ass this Shadow Broker guy is supposed to be. I'm not having you take him on without me there to watch your back."

Shepard smiled at the biotic, leaning in to give her lover a quick kiss. "It's sweet of you to look out for me, but I'll be fine."

Jack wasn't mollified. "What's this really about?", she snapped. "Is it that you don't want me hanging out around your sweet little ex, telling her about all the nasty things we like to do together?"

The Spectre's voice turned hard, the steel beneath the marine's friendly exterior showing. "Don't bring Liara into this."

"Why not!?", Jack was yelling now, her tattooed arms flailing out in exasperation. "I think it's pretty clear you're the one who wants to get that big dick of yours into her. Am I not good enough for you?"

Shepard grabbed her lover by the shoulders, looking her squarely in the eye. "Calm down, Jack," she told her, her voice firm but not unkind. "Seriously, what the hell did I say that made you think something was wrong with us?"

The convict took a deep breath, letting Shepard calm her down. "Nothing," she admitted. "You didn't say shit. It's just…" She shrugged out of the commander's grasp, "I saw her the other day in the mess hall, and I mean look at us. I'm this crazy, fucked-up bitch and she's this beautiful, rich asari. I guess I figured…"

"Well, don't. Listen, what Liara and I had was special and I still care about her a lot., but that doesn't change how I feel about you. You're great, Jack. You kick ass and you pulled my head out of mine when I needed it most. I'm not bailing on you. I just don't want Liara to get hurt any more if I can help it."

"Fuck, Shepard…" Jack turned away in an attempt to hide the emotion starting to well up in her eyes. "How the fuck do you always know what to say?"

"Girl scout training." Jack cracked the hint of a smile at that, and Shepard wrapped her arms around her, giving the biotic a comforting hug. "Look," she added, "If you're really worried about me getting killed, you can come along. Just promise me you'll try and keep things professional."

* * *

><p>"Are you going to be joining us?"<p>

Jack looked across the shuttle bay at Liara. In spite of Shepard's reassurances, the biotic was finding it hard to keep a testy edge out of her voice. "Why?", she asked, "You got a problem with that?"

"Not at all, Jack," Liara said evenly, not rising to the convict's bait. "From everything I've heard, I'm glad to have you with us."

"Really? And what exactly have you heard, blue?"

"That you are an exceptionally powerful biotic," Liara told her.

She narrowed her eyes warily. The two women were still waiting for Shepard to join them and Jack figured she might as well take the opportunity to sound the asari out a little further. "That all?"

"I also understand that you have your own history with Cerberus, one that leads you to be particularly suspicious of them."

"You got that right," Jack snorted. "I wouldn't trust any of those motherfuckers further than I could throw them without my biotics."

Liara smiled approvingly. "I am pleased to hear that. I know that they are helping you to fight the Collectors right now, but at some point, things may be otherwise. When that day comes, the commander will need people like you to watch her back."

Jack felt an unfamiliar twinge of guilt in her gut at those words and the compassionate tone behind them. For days, she'd been readying herself to hate the asari but Liara's genuine concern for Shepard made her uncomfortable. It was easier to see the asari as a rival, one she thought she'd bested, not someone else who cared about the commander as much as she did.

"Yeah," she told the information broker tentatively, "I got her back all right." She shifted uncomfortably on the balls of her feet before trying to change the subject. "Anyway, you got any idea who this fucking Shadow Broker that we're going up against really is?"

"I do not," Liara confessed, her freckled face blushing a slightly darker shade of blue as she did. Damn it, she was cute, Jack couldn't help but think. Why did she have to be cute? "I have never met anyone who knew him as anything other than a voice at the other end of a comm link," the asari continued. "Even his gender is a matter of supposition. Those who spoke with him claimed that his voice sounded masculine, but that could easily be the product of an electronic modulator."

"So what you're saying is that his rep might be pure bullshit," Jack laughed, trying to keep herself focused on the task ahead of them. "That the Shadow Broker could just be some pasty-faced loser sitting behind his monitors pretending to a bad-ass."

Liara returned her laugh. "It is possible."

Jack pulled out her Carnifex, giving the large pistol a final once-over as the shuttle bay lift doors opened to reveal Shepard arriving to join them at last. "Well, fuck it then, blue. Let's go pull this prick out of his hole."


	9. Chapter 9

"Uh, Liara, you should probably forget what I said before."

After over an hour spent battling their way to the heart of the gigantic ship orbiting Hagalaz, Liara had to agree with Jack: whatever the creature that called itself the Shadow Broker really was, "Pasty-faced loser," hadn't even come close. Indeed, as she looked at him, Liara realized there was something oddly familiar about the Broker, but the asari couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

"You travel with fascinating companions, doctor," the massive alien sitting behind the desk rumbled, the gravelly base of its voice echoing through the cavernous office. "Though I suspect you would find the recent actions of Subject Zero particularly interesting. Did you know that the commander has been copulating with her for the past 37 days?"

"That's not true," the asari protested automatically. "Shepard, tell him it's not true…" Liara turned for reassurance to the human who had once been her lover, but she found none. Instead, all she saw was a blush spreading across the commander's face, and a woman unable to meet her gaze.

"Liara," Shepard stammered, "I… It's more complicated then that… I mean, I didn't plan on…"

"How could you?", Liara spat. The asari could feel her heart falling straight into her stomach. After the two years she had spent first battling to save Shepard from the Broker's clutches and then holding onto the desperate dream of a reunion, to have her hopes crushed like this was nearly too much to bear.

"Hey, fuck you, blue" Jack snarled. "Shepard doesn't belong to you."

"Stay out of this," Liara replied, her voice filled with swelling hatred. "I think you've done quite enough already."

"Leave her alone, Liara," Shepard protested, "This isn't her fault."

"Pitiful," the Broker rumbled. "I know your every secret while you fumble in the dark, unable to resolve even your own pathetic, petty issues."

Liara's eyes whipped back around to their real enemy, momentarily forgotten in the turmoil. Her heart might have been breaking but her mind still worked, and as she looked at the monstrous form of the Shadow Broker, suddenly she realized why he seemed so familiar. She looked past the setting and the clothes, and saw what he really was.

Her voice was clear and hard, no sign of her anguish apparent as she spoke. "Is that right?", she told the Broker. "You're a yagh," The frills on the side of the creature's face twitched as she continued, "A pre-spaceflight species quarantined to your home world for massacring the Council's first contact teams. This base is older than your planet's discovery, which probably means you killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago, then took over. I'm guessing you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave… or a pet. How am I doing?"

* * *

><p>With every word Liara spoke, Shepard could see the Broker growing angrier and angrier, while the commander could only stare in amazement. In spite of everything that had just passed between them, there was something intensely magnetic about the brilliant asari in that moment, a strength that Shepard couldn't help but be drawn to. Unfortunately, Jack seemed to notice her distraction. She turned towards Shepard, her brown eyes narrowing, and while the commander stared at Liara and Jack stared at her, the yagh struck.<p>

With a roar, he rose to his full height, smashing his desk in half with a single, powerful blow and hurling half of it at Jack. The biotic noticed in time to start raising her barrier, but not fast enough. Though her nascent shield prevented her small body from being broken entirely, the force of the impact still sent her hurling across the room and left her lying unmoving on the floor.

"Bastard!" The attack snapped Shepard out of her distracted state, her finely honed reflexes kicking in as she opened fire on the yagh with her assault rifle. The burst caught him in the chest, but the creature seemed as hard to bring down as a krogan, flinching but not falling from the impact.

Beside her, a biotic glow enveloped Liara and the asari lashed out with a warp blast, knocking the Shadow Broker backwards before he could find his footing. Shepard jammed a fresh heat sink into her rifle, and fired again as well, but this time, her enemy was ready. A shimmering shield enveloped the yagh, her bullets only doing minimal damage to the energy field.

"The best tech money can buy," she grumbled to herself as the Broker raised up a rifle of his own, a heavy gun that the massive creature was still able to wield one-handed. A hail of bullets flew in her direction, and the Spectre dove for cover behind one of the terminals that dotted the Broker's office, letting her shields and armor deal with the few strays that managed to clip her.

Annoyed at the failure of his first salvo, the yagh opted for a more direct approach, letting out a bellow and charging at Shepard, his momentum only slightly hindered by the pistol shots Liara directed at his shields. The computer equipment smashed under the force of the impact, and the Spectre rolled away from it, scampering towards fresh cover as the Broker followed her.

He didn't get far. Two steps into his pursuit, the yagh ran into the little surprise she'd left behind and just as his foot made contact with the grenade, it exploded, staggering him backwards. Shepard took rapid advantage of the opening she'd created, turning around and driving her armored fists into the creature's midsection. His anti-ballistic force-field provided little protection against that kind of assault, and with his head still spinning from the explosion, Shepard was able to rain a series of strikes down on him with little trouble.

Recovering slightly, the yagh lashed out with a beefy fist, but Shepard ducked under it before delivering another powerful blow underneath his chin. The flesh recoiled from her fist, and as she kept pounding away at her enemy, she felt a wild kind of joy filling her. With her personal life exploding all around her, there was something oddly relieving about the simple violence of combat.

Sadly, her satisfaction was short-lived. Even as the commander struck again, a glowing orange shield sprang into being around the Shadow Broker's forearm, her blow bouncing harmlessly off of it. The yagh pushed back, his strength enough to fling her from her feet and send her tumbling back across the floor of his office.

* * *

><p>"Shepard!" Unable to restrain her instinctive concern for the commander, Liara lashed out with her biotics, sending a powerful wave of energy crashing into the Broker that prevented him from following after Shepard, yanking his attention around to the asari instead. The yagh turned, charging at Liara, and though she launched another warp blast at him, this time he was properly prepared for her attack. His shield took the brunt of the impact and while he was slowed, he wasn't stopped.<p>

Liara braced her barriers against the inevitable collision, but when the Broker slammed into them, she still felt her defenses waver. She'd been using her powers at a high level almost continuously since arriving on the ship, and the effort was beginning to take a toll on the young asari. Rather than engage in a contest of raw force, she dropped to the ground, rolling away from the yagh while firing several more times at his shielded body with her pistol.

The commander was back to her feet by then, but even when she added her own rifle to the attack, the Broker wasn't dissuaded. Liara dove in an attempt to avoid his grasp, but she wasn't quite quick enough, a powerful hand seizing her by the throat and squeezing against her barriers. Her vision swam as she strained to maintain the shield that was all that stood between her and a broken neck , and as he chocked her the yagh growled, "Your interference is at an end, doctor. My plans are at much too crucial a stage for…"

Before he could continue, Liara saw a blur of motion out of the corner of her eye as Shepard crashed full-force against the Broker's back. Her armored weight impacted into the yagh's spine with a satisfying crack and his grip loosened enough for Liara to refocus. Raising her arms, she projected what was left of her shield outward, smashing the Broker in the face with a glowing wall of energy.

While their enemy staggered away from the asari, Shepard kept hitting him, delivering a series of strikes along his back that seemed to do further damage, at least if the grunts of pain coming from the yagh were any indication. Once again though, their advantage was short-lived, the Broker once more raising that orange shield as he spun around and knocked the commander off of him.

This time, Shepard was prepared, rolling with the blow and landing on her feet while Liara took advantage of the respite to move herself to a safer distance and catch her breath. The Broker meanwhile picked back up his huge rifle, but even while he was firing it at the nimble Spectre, Liara's attention was drawn to the massive skylight above them. Just beyond it, the seething electrical storm of Hagalaz crackled, and as Shepard made it to the relative safety of another bank of terminals, inspiration struck. Locking her blues onto the Spectre's green ones, Liara guided her fomer girlfriend's attention upwards.

Shepard nodded, seeming to take her intent at once. They always were good at playing off of each other in battle, and as the commander opened fire with her pistol, drawing the yagh closer to her, Liara reached deep within herself and summoned up what reserves of strength she had left. The Broker advanced and Shepard leapt out from behind her cover, engaging their enemy hand-to-hand once more. She always moved so well, Liara thought, fighting with a mixture of grace, ferocity, and power that the asari had never seen equaled, and there was something riveting in the way she fought the Broker.

It was hard to tear her eyes away from the sight, but it was necessary, and when the yagh once more manifested his shield, Liara was ready for it. Shepard let herself be thrown backwards again, tumbling across the floor of the office and landing in a crouch at its other side while Liara reached out with her biotics, blowing apart the sky-light that was now directly above the yagh. He looked up at the sound, realizing in that instant the trap he'd been led into, but there was no time for escape, nor for any last words beyond a below of rage. A surge of energy poured out of the hole, consuming the Shadow Broker in a tide of white light, completely obliterating his massive form in the few seconds it took for the ship's back-up fields to kick in and end the storm's in-flux into the office.

And just like that, it was over. As the light faded, the only sound in the room was the heavy breathing of the two women, and in that instant, Liara couldn't remember her anger at the commander anymore. After two long years, she had finally defeated the enemy who had become her obsession, and to have won like this, fighting alongside Shepard once more, was enough to blot out everything else.

At least until Jack woke up. From the floor, the tattooed biotic let out a groan and Shepard hurried to her side, bending down to check on her condition. Everything rushed back then: the Broker's accusations, Shepard's pathetic attempts at avoidance, Jack's defiance; and Liara felt her blood start to freeze.

The Spectre placed a hand under Jack's head, asking gently, "Hey, are you all right?", and Liara turned away from the couple, examining the room's terminals rather than continue watching them. Incredibly, all of the data in the Broker's system seemed to be unencrypted, as if he assumed that no one else would ever have access to it, but even as her mind began racing with the possibilities of what she could do with the information now at her disposal, she heard Shepard's voice.

"Liara," the Spectre asked tentatively, "Are you okay there? We won. Take a minute to breath."

"I do not require a minute," she replied in a clipped tone, "And there's too much to do right now in any event. This network is unprotected and if I act quickly, I should be able to convince the Shadow Broker's operatives that I am him and take command of them without anyone being the wiser."

"Is that what you want?", Shepard asked. "It's a hell of a life you're signing up for."

"And what are my alternatives?", she snapped. "You're not exactly in a position to offer me any, now are you?"

"Come on," Shepard pleaded, "At least let's talk about this first."

"I'm not certain what you think there is to say." Her voice was pure ice now, her hurt freezing out everything else she'd been feeling: longing, desire, and sympathy all pushed aside in favor of rage. "It's clear that you have made your choice, even if I do not understand it."

"You don't understand it? What the fuck does that mean?!", Jack hissed angrily, even as Shepard protested, "It's not like that Liara."

"Then what is it like, Shepard? For two years, I waited, hoping against logic that you would come back to me. Now you are with someone else. That is your right. Jack was correct; I don't own you, but do not expect me to like it or want to talk about it." The Spectre opened her mouth to reply, but Liara didn't give her the chance. "Once I have full control of the Broker's systems, I will send you what information I can to help your mission, but as for the rest, I think it would be better if you left before any more was said that both of us might regret."

Jack's lips started to form a comeback, but a sharp look from Shepard clearly caused her to think better of it. The biotic limited herself to an annoyed hiss, instead leading her new lover towards the exit of the massive room and leaving the new Shadow Broker alone with nothing but her thousand, thousand new secrets and the shattered pieces of her heart**.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Well, that last chapter got people buzzing. Certainly, Liara's going through a rough patch here, but there's a lot of twists left to come. Enjoy the latest installment.**

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><p>"I'm sorry."<p>

Neither of them had spoken since they left the Shadow Broker's office, so Shepard was a bit startled when she heard Jack's words echo through the empty corridors of the ship.

"For what," the Spectre asked quietly, her own conscience tugging at her as Jack's apology reminded her of her regrets over recent events. The hurt and rage in Liara's eyes when she told her to leave wasn't something the commander would soon forget.

"I got sloppy." Jack rubbed the bump that still sat atop her mostly shaved head. "After all my talk about watching your back, I got knocked out like a little bitch and left you to deal with that yagh thing without me."

The commander shook her head. "It's not your fault. I got distracted by Liara and that distracted you."

Jack gave her an amused little snort. "Hey, I don't blame you. Blue was pretty hot back there."

Shepard blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Hey, it surprised the shit out of me too. I expected her to be this stuck up little asari princess, but I got to admit, she's a badass." She leaned over and kissed Shepard. "And you know I like my chicks badass."

In spite of herself, Shepard laughed. "Jesus, Jack. Every time I think I've got you figured out, you find a new way to surprise me."

"Yeah, I'm full of hidden depths and all that good shit," the biotic grinned before adding, "Seriously, though, Shep, I know that wasn't how you wanted it to go with Liara."

"She's angry." The commander yanked on her fiery red hair, letting the mild pain distract her. "She has a right to be. I should've…. I don't know what I should've done, but I certainly screwed it up."

Jack shrugged. "Meh, I've heard worse regrets."

That caused an eyebrow to be raised in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Have you looked around at your crew, Shep? You've got thieves, mercs, assassins, and a bunch of fascist Cerberus assholes all working for you. I mean, fuck, do you have any idea what I got locked up on that ship for? Compared with that shit, being a lousy girlfriend doesn't exactly rate. So give yourself a break with the guilt for once and get back to saving the galaxy."

The biotic reached over and took hold of Shepard's wrist, as if she was trying to physically pull her out of her own head. "Look, I know you don't think I'm paying attention half the time, but even I can tell we're getting near the end. We're heading through that relay into fuck knows what, and before we do, you need to get your shit together. You keep helping everybody else to work through their crap, but you're the one in charge of this shit show. If you don't have your head on straight, what chance do the rest of us nutcases have?"

"Christ, Jack, it's not…" Shepard was ready to erupt in frustration once again, but then she stopped herself and exhaled. Instead, she tried to do as the biotic suggested, to put the past behind her and just be there in the moment with her new lover. It wasn't a complete success, but she could feel a little of the tension leave her body, and she smiled. "That's not a bad point, actually. Maybe you should be the captain and give the speeches from now on."

"Really?", Jack smirked. "You gonna put me in charge?"

She winked mischievously. "Not a chance." Jack's smile turned to a frown, and Shepard added quickly, "Okay, it might be worth it to see the look on Miranda's face when she had to take orders from you. But I've got another plan for that."

The biotic licked her lips. "If it pisses off the cheerleader, you know I'm in."

Shepard grinned. "Oh, I think we're going to do more than just piss her off."

* * *

><p>Liara knew she should let it go. She had already wasted far too much time obsessing over what she believed was a sinister plot by Cerberus to manipulate Shepard only to find out that the truth was far simpler and more devastating. Her former lover had moved on and wallowing further in her disappointment had no purpose.<p>

And yet, one thing kept nagging at her: 37 days. That was how long the yagh claimed that Shepard and Jack had been together, but assuming he had told the truth, it raised two questions. For one thing, why had the commander been so skittish when she and Liara first reunited on Ilium, several weeks before that date? That meeting had been what first made her suspicious that something was wrong, and she still had no explanation for Shepard's behavior then.

The other question was more pressing though: how had the Broker known the length of Shepard and Jack's relationship with such precision? He could simply have been lying, but the asari thought that unlikely; though revealing Shepard's dalliance might have served to divide their group, what did the date matter in that context?

No, Liara concluded, her predecessor had probably been telling the truth, which left the question of where his information came from. Was someone on board the _Normandy_ the Shadow Broker's, and therefore now her agent? That was something she needed to know, so half an hour ago, the asari had sat down at her massive bank of terminals in search of an answer, only to come up empty. There was no Shadow Broker operative on Shepard's ship, only…

There it was. A thin smile crossed Liara's dark blue lips as she found what she'd been looking for. An Operative Silas, a human in the employ of the Shadow Broker working on the Citadel, had received a video two days ago from an anonymous source, purporting to show… The information broker swallowed hard as she read the extranet message the agent had sent back to his master. It purported to show Commander Shepard having sex with a member of her crew.

Liara knew she should delete the video file unseen. There was only pain for her there, and yet she couldn't bring herself to do it. She told herself that she was only watching in order to identify who this Silas' source might be, but that was only part of the truth. Curiosity had always been both her gift and her curse; as an archeologist and then as an information broker, her job was to dig until she found the answers, and right now, she had to know what it was about Jack that had convinced Shepard to chose her.

Steeling herself, Liara opened the file. She didn't recognize the setting by sight, but it didn't take long for the location of the video to become the furthest thing from her mind. All she could focus on was Shepard, entirely naked and lying down on a small cot while a topless Jack knelt between her legs, her head bobbing up and down on… Liara's eyes widened as she saw what was protruding out from Shepard's crotch. She might have lacked direct experience with such things, but she had studied more then her fair share of alien species, and what she was looking at was undoubtedly a penis.

Her first thought was that it had to be fake. She and Shepard had used a simple toy that allowed the commander to penetrate her, but she had heard of more realistic ones, even ones which could transmit sensation to the wearer. The more she watched though, then more she doubted that was the case here. The shaft between her former lover's legs seemed to be a perfect extension of her body, both in its skin tone and the way it was connected to the rest of her.

It was also being used to draw the most remarkable reactions out of the commander. Though Liara had seen her in the throws of passion before, Shepard had never looked as desperate as she did here, and there was something about the sight that Liara couldn't tear her eyes away from. The pangs of jealousy she had expected were definitely there, twisting away in her gut, but she hadn't been prepared for them to be accompanied by a rush of arousal. Her skin felt warm and between her legs, her clit had begun throbbing with unwanted, unmet need as she watched the commander being pleasured by Jack.

On the screen in front of her, the convict thrust two of her fingers into Shepard, revealing that the red-head's vagina remained in existence, resting just below her new appendage. The additional stimulation appeared to be too much, because the commander cried out the familiar sound of her pleasure, her body tensing as she thrust her hips upward. After several seconds, the convict withdrew her mouth, the reason why becoming apparent as Shepard continued to climax, a fluid spurting out from her erection to cover Jack's hand as well as land on her face and the commander's belly.

With a trembling hand, Liara reached up, at last able to make herself pause the video on the screen in front of her. Her breathing was uneven as she tried to process everything running through her head. It had been so long since the last time she had been with Shepard but clearly even her anger hadn't been enough to destroy her desire for the Spectre.

Taking a deep breath, the Shadow Broker tried her best to push aside such thoughts and focus on what she had just learned. As odd as it was, Shepard's penis might at last supply an answer to some of the mysteries that had obsessed her. It was presumably the modification that Cerberus had made to the commander, and perhaps it also explained her unusual behavior. Perhaps. Liara had to admit she was out of her element here. As a member of a mono-gendered species, she had little idea of the emotional impact such a change could have on a human woman. She needed an outside opinion and there was only one person she could ask to supply it.

* * *

><p>Ashley Williams groaned as she was yanked from a deep sleep by the beeping sound coming from her terminal. Throwing on a sweatshirt, she pulled herself out of bed and made her way to the other side of her room. Her muscles still ached from the afternoon's training exercises, and as she settled into her desk chair, her eyes were reluctant to stay open. Nor was her mood improved when she answered the call, only to be confronted with the irritatingly alert face of Liara T'Soni. "Liara," she muttered irritably, "Do you know what time it is here?"<p>

"Ashley," the asari replied abashedly, "I am so sorry. I am not on Ilium anymore, and I forgot to recalculate the time differential. We can speak later when you are more awake."

She shook her head, trying to clear away the fatigue. "Don't worry about it. I'm up now. Is this about the skipper? Did you find out what's wrong with her?"

Unexpectedly, Liara blushed at the question, her skin turning a darker shade of blue. "I believe so," she replied hesitantly, words falling awkwardly out of her as she tried to explain. "Perhaps. It is not what I expected, and I wanted to get someone else's opinion. I fear that as an asari, I may not be the person best qualified to understand what is going on. Indeed, I find myself rather baffled by all of this."

"Take a breath, Liara. Just tell me what's going on."

"She has…" Her old comrade paused. "I believe that when Cerberus brought Shepard back to life, they gave her a penis."

Ashley blinked several times, trying to digest the news. Never in a million years would she have predicted that was what was going on. "A penis?", she sputtered, sounding no more coherent then her friend had moment earlier. "What? Why would they…. I mean, is that even possible?"

"I would have had my doubts as well," the asari agreed, "But nearly everything about the Lazarus Project was incredible. As to why they did it, I cannot say."

"And you think that's what messed Shepard up?"

"I'm not certain." Ashley could hear the tension in Liara's voice, a deep turmoil the asari was unable to hide. "I'm not really equipped to say what it would mean to a human woman to have such a thing done to her. How do you think you would react under those circumstances?"

Ashley laughed nervously, running a hand through her rumpled brown hair. "God, Liara, that's… I don't even know. It would be so weird. I mean, it's not like I've got anything against dicks…"

The asari cocked her head in confusion. "Dicks?"

"Sorry, it's human slang for penises. Like I said, I don't hate them. Hell, I've definitely had plenty of fun with them over the years. But having one would be pretty damn weird. It's just not who I am, you know?" She sighed. "I'm sorry I'm not being more helpful. It's not something I ever thought about before."

Liara gave her a small smile, one tinged with regret. "No, I appreciate it. If you are confused by thinking about this, I can only imagine how Shepard must have felt when it was done to her. Perhaps it explains the choices she's made…"

As the asari continued, Ashley heard a catch in her voice, tears forming at the edge of her big, blue eyes. "Hey," the marine asked gently, "What happened? What did Shepard do?"

Liara brushed her eyes clear, her voice hardening as she returned to the more professional tone she had been attempting before. "She is with someone else now, Ashley."

"Someone else?" The commander had been so head-over-heels for Liara back on the _Normandy_ that it was hard for Ashley to picture. "Who?"

"Does it really matter?", Liara asked rhetorically, her tone now downright cold. "Whatever may have happened to her, she has made her choice. I thank you for your help, but it is her life. Now that I know she isn't in danger, this is no longer my concern."

The transmission ended, but as Ashley crawled back under the sheets, she wasn't sure she agreed with Liara. Whatever she might be telling herself, the asari sure as hell didn't seem like someone who didn't care anymore.


End file.
